Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz [2LP]

The Age of Adz is Sufjan Stevens blowing up his own blueprint, a wild, electronic 2010 album that swapped banjos for glitching beats and cosmic panic, here on 2LP.

After the orchestral folk of Illinois made him an indie favourite, many expected another lovingly detailed state album. Instead, Stevens turned inward and outward at once, drawing inspiration from Royal Robertson, a self-taught Louisiana artist whose apocalyptic, space-age visions also provide the cover art. The songs are personal, anxious and often startlingly direct.

Futile Devices opens gently, a hushed acoustic love song that lulls you before the storm arrives. Too Much crashes in with stuttering electronics, brass and choirs, while I Walked turns heartbreak into a slow, glowing pulse. Then comes Impossible Soul, a 25-minute closing suite that moves through Auto-Tune confessions, dance-floor release and quiet benediction.

It's overwhelming in the best sense, a record that rewards headphones and patience in equal measure. Every listen turns up a new layer, a buried horn line here, a ghostly vocal there, and the emotional payoff grows with each return.

The Age of Adz surprised plenty of fans on release, but it now stands as one of the bravest left turns of its era, and a key to so much of what Stevens has made since.