Since 2005’s landmark Illinois, Stevens appears to have gone out of his way to avoid releasing a conventional follow-up. We’ve had a companion set of outtakes, a box set of Christmas EPs, an instrumental evocation of a stretch of expressway, countless cameos and, most recently, a surprise EP. It’s relieving that his return to the album format confirms him as one of America’s most inspired popular musicians.
Perhaps significantly, The Age Of Adz is bookended with acoustic pieces that sound as if they could have come straight from breakthrough record Michigan, as if Stevens is pointing out that, no matter what happens in between, the song is the thing. Over the course of this record, songs are extended until they resemble mantras fuelled by glitchy beats, layers of synths and incredible vocal interplay. Elsewhere, the mesmerising Now That I’m Older is adorned with a spellbinding backdrop of whirling, treated vocals, harp and piano. Similarly, closer Impossible Soul is a 25-minute fantasia that takes in lush soul balladry, sound collage, guitar freakouts, cheerleading chants and electronic funk. Brave and beautiful, this is a thoroughly modern statement of an album – and well worth the wait.
