Stevens, Sufjan - Age of Adz (Vesuvius Edition)

THE AGE OF ADZ is Sufjan Stevens' first full-length collection of original songs since 2005's conceptual pop opus ILLINOIS. While the sounds on this record are distinctly artificial (drum machines and analog synths reign supreme), the proclamations of the songs are unabashedly visceral, sung loudly, with a backdrop of insistent orchestration. The result is an album that is perhaps more vibrant, primary and explicit than anything Sufjan has done before, incorporating themes that are neither historical nor civic, but rather personal and primal (if even a little juvenile).