At the very beginning of the opening track of Sufjan’s tenth studio LP, he softly murmurs the couplets “Goodbye evergreen / You know I love you / But everything heaven sent / Must burn out in the end”. It’s a sentiment that’s poignant enough in and of itself, but, upon learning that the record is dedicated to his late partner Evans Richardson – something the artist only shared on the day of its release – these words assume a near heartbreaking significance. Although ‘Will Anybody Ever Love Me?’ is the most direct summation of the album’s mournful vulnerability, this thread is one that’s delicately weaved throughout its ten tracks – a sonic tribute to the pain of having lost, and the beauty of having loved in the first place.
A tough year for Stevens, as he continues to recover from Guillain-Barré syndrome and learns to walk again, with “Javelin” dedicated to his partner Evans Richardson, who died in April. Stevens’ tenth solo LP leaned hard into his singer-songwriter smarts, privileging the chamber-folk of 2015’s “Carrie & Lowell” over more conceptual tricksiness. Mostly played and assembled by himself, “Javelin” was nevertheless a many-layered, ineffably moving masterpiece.
On “Javelin”, there are more sonic flourishes than his early, folkier turns, but this is still where he whispers in your ear stories of the pain of heartbreak and the resiliency of the same heart to carry on. And just when you think he’s alone, a chorus joins him, as on “Everything that Rises,” to remind you that no one is truly alone.
‘Javelin’ by Sufjan Stevens, released on CD, LP & Digital October 6th, 2023
The Fat Angel Sings 