Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not what you might be expecting, 13 April 2006
Sufjan Stevens is the critically acclaimed creator of some of the most uplifting folk-esque albums of the last few years, and is famed for the outrageous claim that he intends to record an album for every state in the USA.
So, having loved three of his four other albums (A Sun Came never really clicked with me), I was more than looking forward to this album when I purchased it. The last thing I was expecting was an album of often fast-paced electronica in the vein of Boards Of Canada or early Autchere. To this day, I still have my doubt over whether or not this is the same man who graced my stereo with Illinois and Welcome To Michigan.
This came as a bit of a shock, as you can probably imagine. But, luckily enough, I happen to be a big fan of electronica, and I can say without hesitation that this is one of the finest examples of the genre.
So, 5 stars for the quality of the music on the album, but be warned - This is not the same as anything else Sufjan has done.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hugely underrated CD, 2 Oct 2006
Firstly, I have to address the "any idiot can do this" comment. Go ahead, try it, and come back in 10 years and let us know how you got on. Secondly it isn't 'techno', it's electronica, often modern-classical influenced.
I'm not a fan of electronica per se, but it's the thoughtful tunefulness and musical invention that carry this CD, and make it such an engaging listen. To give fair warning, it's very different to the Sufjan of Michigan, Swans and Illinois, but the undeniable talent of this artist is fully apparent on this unconventional precursor.
However, I have one gripe: Sufjan seems determined to fill every CD to it's maximum 75-80 minutes. Trimming 20 minutes from this would produce a wondrous 60 minute sequence.
Best time to listen: Any time, as long as you can play it loud.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A quietly captivating work that was probably lost in translation., 10 Jan 2008
Yes, the well worn reviewer clichés are all here; with hints of Brian Eno, Phillip Glass, Steve Reich, and more obviously, the bands on the Warp label all infusing the sound of this particular LP. I'd also cite the influence of Radiohead, whose year zero album Kid A had been released the year before this particular record and shares the similar aesthetic of an indie act dabbling in a genre that many felt they had no business tampering with. However, whereas Radiohead offered a nod to the music of Aphex Twin and Autechre while still retaining their own unique approach to song writing and structure, Stevens' does away with traditional song writing completely. As a result, some listeners will no doubt see the album as nothing more than shallow would-be genre-hoping from a self-indulgent poseur (just check the Amazon.com reviews for confirmation of this theory), however, I would have to disagree. This album is easily as good as anything released by the more legitimate electronic artists, with the record overcoming it's obvious influences to offer up a number of compositions that are just as compelling, exciting and unique as the work of the ambient/electro artists aforementioned, if not surpassing them entirely in terms of overall quality.
The electronic arrangements here are genuinely impressive; it's not as if Stevens has just thrown together a few keyboard compositions, a bit of guitar distortion and some treated samples. This sounds as legitimate as you could possibly get; with the synthesisers adding cooling textures atop a grinding analogue bass; all backed by electronic drum patterns, crunching guitar samples and swathes of choral backing arrangements. Another plus point is the fact that it never becomes a tedious mess; with Stevens always maintaining a sense of melody or the odd interesting loop. Sometimes, the song will introduce a few notes, create a motif, repeat the motif a few times, before gradually transforming into something else entirely. As I said before, there are melodies on top of melodies, counter melodies snaking their way around the original melodies, and all grinding away atop a backing track of ambient, Eno-esque soundscapes. Stevens produces the whole thing himself and you have to wonder why he would abandon this genuinely interesting sound in favour of the dull narrative pop of the albums that would follow.
It's cinematic music; something to listen to late at night, preferably in the warm glow of lava lamp or some fairy-lights; as your substance of choice (I like tea!) turns your brain into a candy coloured wonderland. All thoughts drifting by on an ocean of sleep as you slooshy these lovely sounds that segue seamlessly into one another; with one song becoming another, song, and so on and so on, until dawn becomes dusk (and then back again). It's beautiful music... some of it suggesting the neon-lit, technodelic, consumerist paradise of a Hong Kong that exists in tandem with Ridley Scott's retrogressive future world creation of Blade Runner; or the point in which the twenty-first century becomes legitimate science fiction. It suggests a world where little people bustle from metallic, phallic commuter trains and out, onto centuries old side roads that are dwarfed by monolithic towers of glass; all shimmering in a vibrant blaze as rain falls down onto plastic, transparent umbrellas, held, teasingly, by girls in traditional school uniform. It's blissed out and loved up, but also littered with moments of lonesome melancholy and intense paranoia. A unique work, in other words.
Enjoy Your Rabbit is really the kind of album that I would have never expected from Sufjan Stevens; bold, exciting, imaginative, evocative and entirely confrontational in the nicest possible way. With albums like this, I always like to think that there's an element of gleeful subversion going on; with the artist creating a piece of work that is wilfully different than anything they've produced before, so that it becomes a statement to the critics, and indeed, the fans, who won't accept that an artist needs to create work that is different, challenging and forward thinking.
This album, for me at least, is light years ahead of the dull narrative compositions of Michigan and Illinois; albums that might seem quirky and idiosyncratic now, but in ten years time will probably seal Stevens' reputation as a one joke gimmick (really, is the whole idea of recording fifty albums, each dealing with a particular U.S. state any less laughable or pretentious than Tales of the Topographic Oceans? I mean, what's his next concept for an album, the phone book?). You can see this kind of mentality of novelty-laced, attention-grabbing song cycles in his Christmas album, and with certain aspects of the overall concept here. Thankfully though, the music here exists outside the concept; with the themes behind the record being largely ornamental. What really impresses us here is the music, with Enjoy Your Rabbit really standing as not only a remarkable electronic album, but a remarkable album in general.
Yes, you could argue that it's a tad too long, but you could say the same thing about Selected Ambient Works Vol. 1. The fact remains that this is great music; a collection of interesting compositions that sound just as great when sound-tracking a lengthy train journey as they do when acting as background fodder for late night listening sessions (sitting up till the early hours of the morning chatting nonsense with good friends, as the epic Year of the Dragon plays on an endless loop in the background). Perfect.
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~ Sufjan Stevens
~ Sufjan Stevens
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~ Sufjan Stevens
