So I know this review has been long overdue, but I really wanted to let this album sink in before I give my final thoughts about it, because I think this is one of Sufjan’s best works to date which is saying A LOT. There is a lot of really tragic context surrounding the release of this album, such as Sufjan’s partner Evans Richardson dying and his diagnosis of the Guillain-Barré syndrome, all of which does contribute to the tragic vibe of this whole album HOWEVER even if those events haven’t occured this album is still a monumental tragic yet beautiful display of decades worth of musical experience. The musical soundscapes of this album are truly something to behold, there isn’t a single song on here that isn’t masterfully crafted to the tiniest of little details.
The whole album opens up with the multi-layered enchanting „Goodbye Evergreen“, which starts of with this lush piano ballad intro, that introduces the listener to the headspace Sufjan is currently in before it all crashes into this heavily industrial colorful and bright explosion of sounds, synths and drums, which all collide together to create the perfect opening crescendo. It then transforms into this jungle-esk beat created from the same sounds as before, that sounds just so good. It also lead smoothly into the next song „A Running Start“ which is more of what we’re used to from Stevens, it being a pretty simple guitar plucky ballad with some touching lyrics and beautiful production all around. What really seperates this album from his other projects thus far though has to be the group vocals/chants present throughout multiple of the songs on this album, this one included. They really bring new life to the all around pretty sad yet hopeful atmosphere of the whole album. Lyrically this song is focused more on the start of the relationship with his now late partner and how all of this newly found love is making him feel. It’s a beautiful ballad with a straight up gorgeous orchestral outro that I just wish was a little more dragged out. Amazing song all around. Next is the song „Will Anybody Ever Love Me?“ which is just all around absolutely breath-taking. It’s once again mostly a guitar ballad but this with some just insanely lush orchestral elements and sharp, kinda even experimental, drums that make it feel much more urgent and grand. The chorus is also one of the most solid on the whole album, I get this one stuck in my head quite a bit. And just the way the violins hit the first time they come in makes me ascend every time, it’s just so well crafted, so far this is easily my favorite. The lyrics are pretty obvious from the name of the song, but the song really makes you feel the urgency and fear behind this question, it honestly resonates with me quite a bit. Just a totally gorgeous track. After that comes the song „Everything That Rises“ which weirdly enough was the first song I hearted on my first listen and now I think it’s still pretty great, but just a tiny bit less great than the first three songs are. That still doesn’t mean it still isn’t amazing, this is just taking it relatively to the rest of this album – the main repeated chorus is stunningly beautiful and just something about the way the guitar is played on this one really hits the spot for me. The vocals are also some of the best here I feel like as are the little electronic effects, which are actually quite detailed and creative, they mash with the very natural instrumentation surprisingly well. My biggest gripe with this song would probably be just that I think it could have been a little bit shorter, but that’s really just a nitpick. Now even though still great, the next song „Genuflecting Ghost“ is probably my least favorite on the album. I really like the plucky guitar on here and this one ESPECIALLY has some Carrie & Lowell vibes which is also one of my favorite Sufjan projects, so I still have a soft spot for it, but relatively speaking, this song doesn’t have THAT much going for it as the others. I really like the group vocals and some of the melodies here, I think the song is really well made from a technical standpoint, but it took me a lot of listens to fully appriciate this one and usually I tend to skip it. The electronic part at the end isn’t as tastefully incorporated as in the other songs, though it still sounds nice obviously. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination, just not as exciting. Things do pick up big time though in the form of the next song „My Red Little Fox“ which is just… Yeah, this one was an instant heart for me. I just love the almost christmasy sound palate, the comfy cold feel of it, the really beautiful chorus and just the all-around sentiment of it, it truly hits differently this one. The electronics are also much more natural and seemless in this one and they have their own little segment towards the end where they shine the most. Just another great yet really painful song and oh boy it only gets worse from here, because the next song is „So You Are Tired“ and this one is somehow even more brutal. This is essentially the other person being tired of their relationship and them both coping with it while also trying to salvage it all. It opens up with a really somber piano and Sufjan just doing his thing over it until it gets to this just purely eargasmic part with the group vocals that are EASILY my favorite of the whole album, the melodies on this song are unreal like actually. This song is like the very definition of gorgeous and I know I’ve use that word quite a bit in this review but just LISTEN to it, like how does he even do it. Spectacular song, words truly aren’t enough to convey how much I enjoy this track front to back. And if that wasn’t enough, then you have the last 3 songs that together form essenitally the one final closing track. First of those songs is the title track interlude „Javelin (To Have And To Hold)“ which is really beautiful just on its own, but combined with the other two is unreal. It connects the previous song to the longest song on the entire album, that being „Shit Talk“ where Sufjan and his partner finally resorve their conflict with the main takeaway lyrics here being „I don’t wanna fight at all, I will always love you“ which is just such an emotional gutpunch. The song is almost 9 minutes long yet it doesn’t feel like that in the slightest, even thought like a good third of the song takes up this ambient instrumental outro that, purely musically speaking, might just be the best sounding thing on the entire album. It really feels like the absolute calm after the storm. The one truly final song after that is the song „There’s A World“ which is essentially THE final goodbye to his partner after their death. It wraps up everything elegantly and serves as in my opinion the perfect closer. It’s short but sweet, it doesn’t need to be more than that.
So this was quite the emotional rollercoaster… I am serious when I say this is easily one of my favorite projects of the entire year and I was considering giving it like a 7 on my first listen! This album definitely takes a bit of time and a few listens to be fully digested but please just give it that, because it will reward you handsomely for doing so.
-favorite songs: Goodbye Evergreen, A Running Start, Will Anybody Ever Love Me?, Everything That Rises, My Red Little Fox, So You Are Tired, Javelin (To Have And To Hold), Shit Talk, There’s A World
-least favorite songs: Genuflecting Ghost
decent 9/10