Come On, Feel The Illinoise!

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 16, 2005 6:04PM

Is bringing a live version of a song cycle about Illinois to Illinois like bringing coal to Newcastle? If so, then let’s hear it for redundancy as Sufjan Stevens will be appearing at Metro on September 16th following the release of his album Illinois on July 5th.

Part of a series of albums Stevens is releasing as part of his 50 States project, Illinois is the audio equivalent of the movie Waking Life: a version of reality where life is normal then suddenly becomes surreal (coincidentally, an illustrator who worked on the film provides the album’s cover art). It’s similar to being at an improv show where the performers create an unexpected artistic statement by riffing on a person, place or thing shouted by an audience member (Pullman! Mary Todd Lincoln! Superman!) with the titles of the songs only tangentially related to the lyrical or musical content therein (the instrumental tracks have the longest titles on the album, for example).

While the album might be a bit twee for some tastes, Chicagoist thinks this is some of the prettiest music we’ve ever heard. The sometimes-haunting melodies and lush strings make for some interesting juxtapositions; you’ll likely never hear more beautiful compositions dealing with racism (“Jacksonville”) or serial killing (“John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”).

There are a few Chicago-centric tracks here ("Chicago", "The Seer’s Tower", and "One Last Woo-Hoo For The Pullman") but anyone looking to deconstruct this album to see if Stevens has captured what it’s like to be a “real” Chicagoan or Illinoisan will be disappointed. The stories and moments captured on Illinois seem both familiar and mysterious, like meeting a man who looks like your grandfather on a street in your neighborhood that you never knew existed.

Click here for a full track listing or here to download a couple tracks including one of our favorites: “The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts.”