Humor resurfaces in ambitious work of Sufjan Stevens
Patriot-News, The (Harrisburg, PA)
September 29, 2005

Cheerleader outfits and nearly tangling with Superman are unusual rock resume builders, but it seems to be working for Sufjan Stevens.
The 30-year-old, whose first name is pronounced “Soof-yawn,” plans to do an album on each of the 50 states. “Michigan” was released in 2003, and “Illinois” is his latest disc.

In concert, he and his band have been known to dress like University of Illinois cheerleaders.

Shortly after the albums release, Stevens’ label, Asthmatic Kitty, was alerted by its attorney that using an image of Superman on the cover — he’s the subject of the song “The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts” — could be copyright infringement. The record company and DC Comics reached an agreement that allows Asthmatic Kitty to sell the discs with the Man of Steel on them if they remove his image from future pressings.

Haberdashery and legal issues aside, Stevens is earning much praise for his actual music.

” ‘Illinois’ is even better than its predecessor, ‘Michigan,’ and might be the best record of 2005,” Billboard magazine raved.

” ‘Illinois’ at times veers annoyingly close to sub-They Might Be Giants camp,” said the Chicago Sun-Times. “But Stevens also displays a novelist’s flair for revealing details, and his lush pop arrangements are simply gorgeous.”

Stevens comes to the Chameleon Club in Lancaster, tonight. Doors open at 6 p.m., and tickets are $16. For more information, call 393-7133 or go to www.chameleonclub.com.

A native of Detroit and a self-taught musician who is proficient on the oboe, recorder, banjo, guitar, vibraphone, bass, drums and piano, Stevens is taking the long view of his states album series.

“I guess daunting is a word you could use, but I think it’s also exciting and full of possibility, so in some ways you can see it as a project for life,” Stevens told ChartAttack.com.

The response to his work has been nice, but …

“I think people have been taking me far too seriously, and I think I’ve been taking myself far too seriously,” he said in the ChartAttack interview. “I saw a real discrepancy between the nature of that persona and the nature of my true personality.”

Stevens says his true personality involves large doses of humor.

That and a not-always-serious outlook are evident in his Asthmatic Kitty biography that tells us when he’s not trying to capture a state’s essence, Stevens is involved in “graphic design, painting, running, knitting, crocheting, weaving, quilting, cleaning, photography, haircutting and dry wall installation. He collects stamps and wheat pennies. He cooks legendary omelets and can whip up a sushi feast at the drop of a sake glass.”

As for what’s next on the music map, Stevens won’t reveal anything.

“I’ve sort of stopped saying what’s next because I work on things simultaneously, so I want to keep things under cover until I know for sure what’s coming out,” he says.

IF YOU GO
Sufjan Stevens, 6 tonight, Chameleon Club, 223 N. Water St., Lancaster. Tickets are $16. Call 393-7133 or go to www.chameleonclub.com.

In concert, Sufjan Stevens, center, has been known to dress like a University of Illinois cheerleader.