I have long been awaiting the day Sufjan Stevens releases another album. Two years ago, he released “A Beginner’s Mind” with fellow indie-folk singer Angelo De Augustine. While it was a beautiful outing, it lacked the personableness and intimacy that comes with a more focused and purposeful project. Sufjan has also made plenty of albums that have dabbled in more electronic-focused genres, which is interesting in and of itself, but they never grabbed my attention or love in the same way.
Considering all these factors, Sufjan’s last singer-songwriter/folk outing was 2017’s “Carrie and Lowell,” an album which has had a lasting impact on me over the last year or so. In my mind, “Carrie and Lowell” was the bar of quality I was expecting when I excitedly learned this August Sufjan would release a new folk album titled “Javelin.” However, I was not expecting for it to raise the bar this significantly.
Upon release, Sufjan Stevens sadly announced the album was dedicated to his late partner, Evan Richardson, who had passed away in April. Stevens had released three singles prior to the release of the album, so this made for a crushing re-contextualization of the songs in which I’d already heard. Because of this revelation, it’s clear to me it would be remiss of me if I were not to mention the obvious parallels between this event and the lyrics that populate this record.
“Goodbye Evergreen” begins the album on a seemingly somber note, with Sufjan intimately saying goodbye to something beautiful. He claims, “everything Heaven sent must burn out in the end.” It describes a deep aching pain and the scattered nature of Sufjan’s mental state, the only refrain being “you know I love you.” The song crescendos unlike any other on the album, with boosted bass and 808s accompanying sleigh bells and a harmonious choir of voices, so much to the point where the explosion of emotion could be interpreted as scary or even violent in some senses. But it’s very soon after we realize this was the endpoint of such an outburst because the song transitions into a far more pleasing and melodic display of beauty in the final section. There is pain here, but while Sufjan is typically accustomed to make anthems for the solemnly depressed and hopeless, he provides a newfound grace and triumph in light of such horrible emotions. This I feel encapsulates the experience of the album as a whole.
The tracklist that follows is a winding and bending path through the pain of loss and expression of a deep and profound love. Where most artists would take this opportunity to evoke fear and heartbreak in their audience, Sufjan decides to use his time as a slideshow through the gorgeous moments he was lucky enough to experience. This paves way, of course, to plenty of emotionally wrenching glimpses regardless, but they are never the point of the songs.
Songs like “A Running Start” and “Everything That Rises” particularly highlight the simple and beautiful nature of love and the wonderful things we need to keep hold of. The lyrics paint portraits of souls uniting alongside an indescribable universe, evoking a sense of spirituality and the belief even the end won’t take away the love humans are able to conjure with each other.
Even the lyrically darker songs like “Genuflecting Ghost,” as much as it communicates mourning, stays headstrong in the reminder that while empires fall and beautiful things end, this is completely natural and it can’t distract us from the love that causes such pain in the first place. “My Red Little Fox” is especially mournful and yearning for lost love, but is still finished with tranquil flutes and singing, as Sufjan will not allow any song on this project to leave you without peace and closure in some way.
I find the peak of this mournful attitude is reached at “So You Are Tired.” If I were to truly give a proper estimate of what I believe this song means, then I would likely have to make assumptions about Sufjan’s personal life which frankly I have no right or reason making. However, it’s clear that such a song is trying to communicate conflict among two lovers nearing the end. Of what? Who’s to say? Though it must not be forgotten the clear passion and love being poured into every lyric and chord of this track. This song paired with an accompanying and entrancing single prior to the album’s release, “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” tell of Sufjan questioning the possibility of ever finding something as good as what he had.
The penultimate songs of the album, however, give a powerful climax to the overall message being communicated. The title track “Javelin (To Have and to Hold)” and “Shit Talk” continue to describe conflict, regrets and mistakes encountered on both ends of such a visceral relationship. The latter song expands upon this theme, though, using refrains such as “I will always love you,” “hold me closely, hold me tightly lest I fall” and “I don’t wanna fight at all” as potent reminders that despite all difficulties and troubles, finding peace and love within this incalculably beautiful world is unequivocally the most important thing about our lives.
Sufjan Stevens decided to close the album with a peaceful cover of Neil Young’s “There’s a World.” If you were to choose to visit the original version of the song, you’d find the chords and Neil Young’s vocal delivery shockingly ominous and bombastic. Despite this, perhaps Sufjan has chosen to re-contextualize the lyrics, as we are left with a simple declaration of love and tranquility. It provides a calming reminder of the constant serenity we encounter in our day-to-day lives, and that even a separation from what we love isn’t necessarily the destruction of it.
This album has had a profound impact on me. Listening to it alone while outside and observing nature has provided me with an intense sense of entanglement with what I love. Loss and fear exist outside of it. Outside of me. Every good thing is not something to possibly lose, but rather evidence of how much I’ve gained. I have every intention of holding it closely.
Anthony Morris is an opinion writer. Contact them at [email protected].
