Michigan

Even though I usually stick to the coasts, I'll always have a place in my heart for Michigan -- I was born there, after all.

It also happens to be the first album in Sufjan Stevens' proposed fifty-state-album project, "Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lake State." Stevens' mellow indie-folk rules the album with a gentle hand, from sprightly folkpop to banjo balladry -- and it's as fun as it is complex and alluring.

It opens with a gentle piano, joined in by a chorus of horns. "It's the same outside/Driving to the riverside/I pretend to cry/Even if I cried alone," Stevens murmurs, embodying a worker who isn't working. Despite its simplicity, it's packed with self-trickery and windy dissatisfaction. "I forgot the part/Use my hands to use my heart/Even if I died alone..."

Then the tone totally changes with "All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace," a sprightly little pop tune, and the folky banjo of "For The Windows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti." From there, he tries out variations of all his folky talents -- dreamlike folkpop, swaying wistful folk, sparkling xylophone, guitar ballads, and steady pipe organs leading into a bluesy ballad.

But the best songs of all are when Stevens combines all his musical influences into one enormous joyous mass of sound -- "Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)" is a glorious mishmash of pop, xylophone, piano, horns and folky interludes, blended into a great soaring epic. So is the luminous "They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black (For The Homeless In Muskegon)."

Sufjan Stevens is one of those rarest artists whose ambitions are dwarfed by their ability -- the guy is a truly brilliant musician and songwriter, which makes his fifty state album goal (assuming he still has it) doesn't seem beyond his reach. Well, time constrains, but he could wring beauty and life from each state.

Certainly his musical ability is astounding -- smooth piano played with wistfulness and energy, a sizzle of electric in "The Upper Peninsula," and mellow acoustic guitar and plucked banjo to give it that folky unpolished sound, along with some slow drums in the background. They're earthy and solid, yet somehow still very polished and solid.

But the music is more colourful than that, with a xylophone played with the delicacy of windchimes. Some of the songs are just that -- xylophone tinkling at us prettily, and nothing else. And many songs are backed by a chorus of horns -- sometimes they blare happily at us, sometimes they groan mournfully through the melodies.

Stevens' voice is well-suited to all this -- deep, smooth and meditative, but he can sing a more energetic tune when he wants to. And he packs plenty of meaning into deceptively simple lyrics, full of Michigan's woes, love of God, past experiences, improving the world, poverty, and just his love of the state. "If the lakes took/The place of the sea/If the cars drove themselves/Way to be!/Opposite the trains moving in/Rivers run interstate, Michigan!"

Few freakfolk artists can even approach the brilliance of Sufjan Stevens' "Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lake State," a practically perfect little folkpop gem. Say YES to "Michigan!"

This deserves its top rating based on sheer durability. I never seem to tire of it, particularly for late night listening. The 75 minute sequence (the average for a Sufjan CD!) seems effortless, the quality never dips, every song justifying its place, and each is a highlight in its own way.

If you've heard Illinoise, this CD is similar but mellower, and because Michigan is Sufjan's home state the songs are more personal.

Best time to listen: Late at night

At first sight, "Michigan" gives the impression of being a banal piece of promotion, sponsored by the Michigan state tourist authorities...
However, it turns out there`s absolutely nothing banal about this record. Stevens delivers a series of most memorable melodies, mostly melancholy in spirit. Wistful acoustic songs like the fantastic "Romulus"(about an abondoned child`s ambivalent emotions towards his irresponsible mother. Autobiographical? Hope not.), "Holland", "Flint", "Sleeping bear.." stand out at first listen, others are more uplifting, uptempo, rhythmically complex and orchestrated but just as GOOD, like "They also mourn.." and "Oh Detroit.." There`s a folky and hypnotic feel to most of the mellow songs, in the sense that Gillian Welch`s "I dream a highway" is hypnotic. Much beauty.

Stevens is a skilled multiinstrumentalist, arranger and producer, and the overall sound of this album is varied and tasteful, with banjo and piano playing prominent roles accompanied by a variety of, mostly acoustic, instruments. Many nice details.
What does it sound like? There are hints of Mercury Rev, Sea And Cake, Elliott Smith, Iron & Wine, but that doesn`t really say a lot. It`s no doubt something more and different.

In his lyrics, the now New York-based artist paints moving pictures of the fates of both the people - the homeless and the fatherless, the unemployed and underpaid - and the nature and places of his home state itself - destroyed by the polluting car industries of Detroit, "once a great place, now a prison" - with much care and affection. Stories of love and loss, hope and pride.
I ,for one, can`t put my finger on a weak point here. Even the short glockenspiel-interludes are a treat and adds to the general cohesive, flowing feel of the album.
Sufjan Stevens exhibits skilfullness and scope on this conceptual and highly personal work of art. I`m definitely eager to check out more of his stuff. Highly recommended to my kins of spirit.