The Age of Adz begins like any other Sufjan Stevens album, with Stevens singing in his angelic whisper over some intricately plucked guitars. Then the second song comes in with a flurry of farting synths and under-
water-exploding drum machines; by the album’s 25-minute finale, Stevens is singing in warbling Auto-Tune. There’s plenty of acoustic instrumentation and choral arrangements and catchy melodies amid all the whizzing gadgetry—and Stevens’s interest in electronics goes back to his Enjoy Your Rabbit days—but Adz might still surprise fans of his more traditional orchestral pop. How the hell they’ll reproduce these songs live is anyone’s guess. (Paramount, 911 Pine St, 877-784-4849, 8 pm, $22–$32, all ages)

4 replies on “Sufjan Stevens”

  2. I came down to Portland, and saw Sufjan last night. It was amazing. Part P-funk, part Yes, all about prophecy, heart break, mental illness, cheesy dance moves and volcanoes. And silver pants. It was nothing like his other work, but equally as engaging in a totally different way. The music and the explanation (his long, looooooooong,explanation) of his inspiration did leave me a little concerned that he might be listening a little to closely for the siren song of schizophrenia, but as long as he doesn’t succumb to it, I think he’s going to continue producing some pretty mind blowing shit.

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