The Class of ‘04
The hype starts here. We can’t help ourselves. We are always looking for the next big thing or the next big things. Since 2001, we’ve been putting forth our predictions on new artists who we think will make an impression in the coming year and beyond. what follows are this year’s picks for future gratness. We like to think of the endorsement as a blessing, not a curse.

Sufjan Stevens
The Audience Is Listening
By Andy Howard

Sufjan Stevens’ midnight SXSW showcase at Buffalo Billiards last March was attended by many, heard by few.

He was at a disadvantage-it’s easy to drown out one banjo-playing singer, three vocalists (one being Rosie Thomas) and a trumpet player with not a Marshall stack between them, especially when the music is by design, quiet. Those who wanted to listen had to strain, but it was worth it. And they, as Stevens does himself, know it goes with the territory.

“You have to deal with it,” he says without rancor. “It just seems to be the way SXSW is set up. Even Iron and Wine and Rosie’s shows [were overwhelmed]. That will happen, unless you’re a pretty loud rock ‘n’ roll band.”

Stevens is loud, but in his own way. He’s been stretching the boundaries of folk music since the late nineties as a member of Marzuki and the Danielson Famile, as well as on his own. His third album, Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State (on his own Asthmatic Kitty label), hit like a thief in the night during 2003, and set all the pundits jabbering about its lush, pastoral beauty. The follow-up album, Seven Swans (Sounds Familyre), is likewise garnering praise.

“Recently, there has been less and less emphasis on quality songwriting with more sophisticated lyricism, more dynamic melodies-all the mechanics of a song. That’s kinda what I’m working at… that’s my craft. I don’t know if I’m always successful, but I’m really honored that people are listening.”