After completing the first installment of his planned series of 50 records -- one album dedicated to each state in the U.S. -- indie
folk
overachiever
Sufjan Stevens
returned with
Seven Swans
, a collection of stripped-down, introspective musings on life, love, and faith that chart the geographic location of the heart and soul. Many of these themes were dealt with eloquently on
Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State
, presenting the singer/multi-instrumentalist as a first-rate interpreter of the human condition, as well as a gifted musician. The 12 tracks on
Swans
yield the same bounty, but with a leaner arsenal, due to
Stevens
' sparse arrangements and production from
Danielson Famile
mastermind
Daniel Smith
. Fellow
Famile
members
Elin
,
Megan
David
, and
Andrew
-- who also appeared on
The Great Lakes State
-- lend their vocal and percussion talents to the mix, resulting in a surreal campfire environment that's part confessional and part processional. Beginning with the gorgeously titled
"All the Trees in the Field Will Clap Their Hands,"
saunters out of the gate with nary an overdub to be heard, letting the banjo lead the parade, slowly picking up piano, percussion, and the angelic voices of
and
before disappearing over the hilltop. He channels
Bert Jansch
on the love song
"The Dress Looks Nice on You"
Eric Matthews
on
"To Be Alone With You,"
striking a winning balance of '60s
British folk
and indie
Americana
. Like
the Violent Femmes
' seminal pseudo-Christian masterpiece,
Hallowed Ground
treats religion with simplicity and sincerity, approaching the subject with an almost feverish peacefulness.
"Abraham,"
"We Won't Need Legs to Stand,"
"He Woke Me Up Again,"
with its fiery, overdriven organ, are all effective tomes of the singer's faith, but that faith can be tested.
is quite aware of the dark, and no more so than on the
Flannery O'Connor
-inspired
"A Good Man Is Hard to Find,"
a first-person murder narrative that reveals a subtle current of menace only hinted at in the earlier portion of the record. Like faith, these songs require patience, as their almost mantra-like arcs take their time to fully form. By the time he reaches the spirited closer,
"Transfiguration,"
an affirming take on the Gospels that reaches an almost
Polyphonic Spree
crescendo, the listener has no choice but to conform -- if only for the length of the record -- to the writer's unabashed spirituality, and at just under 45 minutes, it's an easy choice to make. ~ James Christopher Monger