After successfully navigating his way into the mainstream with 2005's epic
Illinoise
, ultra-prolific
indie pop
prince
Sufjan Stevens
had no intention of laying low. Instead, he released a set of
outtakes, a five-disc collection of Christmas songs, and staged a "symphonic and cinematic exploration of New York City's infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway" that included a self-made Super 8 mm film, a full orchestra, and a small army of hula hoopers performing live in front of a sold-out Brooklyn Academy of Music. While it could be argued that the ambitious
BQE
serves as the "New York" chapter in his abandoned 50 states project, it hardly fits in with the other two entries. Many
pop
musicians have ventured into the
classical
realm (
David Byrne
,
Paul McCartney
Roger Waters
Elvis Costello
, to name a few), but
Stevens
had already been dabbling in strings, woodwinds, and horns quite admirably since his
lo-fi
2000 debut. Closer to the
Godfrey Reggio
/
Philip Glass
collaboration
Koyaanisqatsi
than it is to
Byrne
's
The Forest
, fans of the liberal, staccato woodwinds that peppered
will find much of the
familiar. As always,
' melodies are circular, occasionally precious, and often dissonant, but they are presented here with a maturity that will no doubt turn more than a few heads in the classical community, while simultaneously turning some away in the
world. The package itself is truly impressive, boasting a highly stylized Japanese pop art-inspired jacket, a 40-page booklet, a stereoscopic 3D View-Master reel and a DVD of the Super 8 mm film that accompanied the performance. As lyrical a musician as he is, without his commanding use of language (the song cycle is entirely instrumental), the
loses some momentum near the end, but by then it's become clear that, as is the case with all of his projects, the term "half-assed" does not apply. ~ James Christopher Monger