“Gilgamesh” should probably have been the album’s epitome, as it covers territory both identifiably Sufjan, yet treads new ground with the spirit of a pathfinder.
High points might be “Gilgamesh” and following number “Death Star”. The lengthy closer “America” seems to take the plot essence of a Dolce & Gabbana perfume ad and render it kaleidoscopic.
“Video Game” is a bit of a cross between Made in Heights and Radiohead’s “Idioteque”, minus the brightness of the former and the less-is-more futurism of the latter. On the upside, there is plenty of instrumental variety, though the lack of focus seems more the result of meandering at-home synth exploration than innovation. The various depressive quips throughout Ascension feel more like self-parody than self-affirmation. Though I must stress, I’m not prone to attacking lyrics ad nauseam - it’s more the general feel of an album’s sound on which I feel compelled to home in, with the eventual point being that this eighty-minute outing is a bit of a sonic chore, and this isn’t remedied consistently enough by Stevens’ occasional effective choice of words. The entirety of “Sugar” isn’t any better. “Video Game” features lines like “ I don’t wanna be a puppet in a theatre I don’t wanna play, I don’t wanna play ”, which would work if a sense of desperation and panic was achieved, rather than a general aloofness. “Die Happy” might be too obvious a target, simply consisting of the same phrase repeated. As P4k’s Sam Sodomsky concisely put it, the album is “ kind of a drag ”, though I would argue that to be true both thematically and literally. Often, the motifs wear out long before the closing moments, which themselves tend to be various instrumental codas that would be skippable under the moniker of a lesser-known artist. The aforementioned elevation of simple concepts is still here, but it’s more to the credit of nuanced production and sound selection than strong songwriting and composition.
With Ascension, however, Sufjan’s outlook seems more pessimistic. If one subscribes to the idea that art is defined by the listener, music with near-infinite possibilities for definition is certainly worth a listen. Just about any notion regarding his works could be justified if you tried hard enough, and that isn’t really meant to be a criticism. Spend a few minutes reading the introductory paragraphs for his albums' reviews and you’ll see mentions of existentialism, fortitude, modernism, life, love, and so on. With many Sufjan works, part of the listener’s interest can be in their own projecting of various themes and ideas into the silly musician’s material. This has been largely attributed to his chaotic-symphonic composition, validated by sophisticated touches, and to a persona that was often like a capricious anti-bard, leaning into either the uncomfortably personal, or the enigmatic and alien. Like shining light into an elaborate prism, his ideas refract and scatter, becoming more far-reaching and wonderful than they otherwise would be if laid bare. Sufjan Stevens’ greatest strength throughout his discography, maybe, has been his ability to elevate modest melodies and concepts into a sphere of wonder and speculation. Review Summary: Have space suit - will shit my pants 👨🚀
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