We don’t talk about love songs as much as we’d like. We managed to get through Valentine's Day in silence. But this record forces this all to the forefront, whether it’s in love or parting, it remains one of the most emotionally touching records we’ve heard.
We’d classify this as one of Sufjan Stevens' best records of his career. ‘Javelin’. It’s on par with ‘Illinois’ and ‘Carrie & Lowell’, except this time, it’s far more personal. Dedicated to his late partner, Evans Richardson, it sees Sufjan bear his heart and pain in spades. The record is all the more painful knowing he has been unable to tour due to ongoing medical complications with Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
There are two outstanding moments on the records that left us stunned. The first is the truly beautiful ‘Will Anyone Ever Love Me?’ as it confronts the insecurity of isolation in the wake of loss with a level of honesty we have not heard before. It’s open, immaculate and transcendent, which is everything Stevens is trying to be on the record and more.
There’s also the extended penultimate, 8-minute odyssey of ‘Shit Talk’, with its refrains of ‘I will always love you’ serving as the core goodbye to the eulogy-like finale. The quiet conclusion of ‘There's a World’ sees Stevens reconcile the pain in the hopes of moving forward whilst holding the memory of his lover close in the promise of true love lost, which in no other way could be done as elegantly or as beautifully as Stevens puts it.
This is a beautiful but crushing reflection on intimacy, loss and grief, which rivals any songwriter record of the last 10 years. It’s up there with ‘A Crow Looked At Me’. Ten albums in and it’s one of his best. Essential listening.
‘Javelin’ is available in the Store now.