'Indie poster boy' Sufjan Stevens has been producing albums as a solo artist for the past ten years, debuting in 2000 with A Sun Came. One of the most consistantly magnificent songwriters of the decade, he has made a load of wonderful albums including Illinois, Michigan, Sevens Swans and my #4 album of 2010 The Age of Adz.
Casimir Pulaski Day is one of the best songs off his 2005 album Illinois. Included in almost every Album of the Decade list that I have seen, Illinois is a orchestrally grand, perfectly accurate depiction of the state and it is filled with rich, layered, incredibly uplifting songs. Casimir is a beautifully heartfelt lament over a lost love - the lyrics are stunningly evocative and the guitar line is beautifully simple. Sufjan's voice is delicate and emotional, and the images invoked throughout the song are lucid and moving. This song represents acoustic songwriting at its best.
The video is a live performance at a radio station in America - his live shows are really eccentric, but also brilliantly coordinated - there are rumours of a European tour in the wake of the release of Adz and I can tell you that I would sell my kidney for tickets to see him.
No comments:
Post a Comment