For example, the stunning string sections on “Heaven” or the beautiful dusty synth builds on “Star” are some of Mitski’s best-arranged tracks to date. Here it feels like the themes of American disillusionment on Be The Cowboy and lovestruck sorrow on Laurel Hell find common ground, all with a stunning country twist on Mitski’s typical singer-songwriter style. The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We by Mitskiįinn: So this is Mitski’s best album. Artists like Sufjan, who seem to come out with a new album every time you remember they exist, often turn away fans from their newer albums simply because there are an overwhelming amount to get through (I’m guilty of this for The Mountain Goats), but a deep listen of songs like the 8 and a half minute brilliant ballad “Shit Talk” proves otherwise: by the fifth iteration of “Hold me closely/Hold me tightly lest I fall” you ascend into the beautiful and magical headspace of Javelin and life seems to slow down in this outstanding way. This is an album that’s easy to fall in love with, and it’s one of Sufjan’s greatest. Owen: The latest release by multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens contains everything you’d want in a Sufjan album, his wistful, soft vocalizations that make you feel like you’re running through spots of sun in a forest at dawn, a beautiful layering of angelic backing vocals, airy guitar, and bizarre electronica that come together like a warm sweater, and a somber emotional progression that has a climax as satisfying as a Wes Anderson movie. And although the music is fantastic, at this point I just want bad things to stop happening to Stevens because he clearly is a treasure who deserves nothing but happiness. “Will Anyone Ever Love Me?” works a more pop-inspired formula, while the 8-minute “Shit Talk” severs as a stunning focal point. The album opener “Goodbye Evergreen” begins with crushing lyrics like “Think of me as you will/I grow like a cancer/I’m pressed out in the rain/Deliver me from the poison pain” which leads into a crushing and whimsical wall of sound. Javelin by Sufjan Stevensįinn: With a career spanning 20 years at this point, what more could listeners ask of singer-songwriter extraordinaire Sufjan Stevens? However, Javelin acts as an aesthetic reset for Stevens to answer this question, as the record re-embraces the wondrous and melancholic folk of 2015’s Carrie & Lowell, as a great portion of the lyrical focus expresses Stevens’s grief over the loss of his partner Evans Richardson in April 2023. I can’t decide what brings me to tears more: hearing the words “I want to be happy” at the climax of the closing track “Letter To An Old Poet” or seeing the boys on stage in each others’ arms. The album is filled with unforgettable anthems like “Not Strong Enough,” beautiful ballads like “Leonard Cohen,” and headbangers like “Satanist,” a track that perfectly emphasizes the idea of growing with a companion through everything. The album has many of the same nihilistic, heartbreaking, and devastating elements of the solo albums of its writers, but when they come together there’s an element of hope that’s truly priceless. Bridgers, Dacus, and Baker’s combined talent is just one aspect of what makes this album the greatest album of 2023 – their unity, their support of one another, and their genuine and unapologetic love shown for one another in performing it live make this album the cultural phenomenon it is. Owen: This album, which opens with the memorable line “speak to me until your history’s no mystery to me,” is a powerful display of storytelling and collective healing. Although the trio are each fantastic solo artists, they unlock a new magic when working together. Several solo cuts really shine as well, including the Bridgers-lead “Emily I’m Sorry” one of the most heartbreaking songs on the album, the punchy “$20” lead by Julian Baker, and “We’re In Love” lead by Lucy Dacus, the most lyrically detailed track on the project. There is also the playful “Satanist” one of the most rockin’ moments of the album. Highlights from the former include song of the year “Not Strong Enough” and the country-influenced “Cool About It” where the trio tiptoes around volatile relationships. The album has a two-pronged approach, consisting of solo tracks with backing vocals of other members and posse cuts with all 3 members, with the boys capitalizing on their tried-and-true (blue) vibes. Given the talent and artistic overlap of these three, this album is essentially a slam dunk of melancholic folk-pop ballads and tongue-in-cheek rock jams. Finn: Singer-songwriters Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus re-form like Voltron to follow up their 2018 self-titled EP with a full album, and all I have to say is finally.
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