Asthmatic Kitty US Vinyl & CDs

Review: For Sufjan Stevens, "With My Whole Heart", is said to be a self-described attempt to "write an upbeat and sincere love song without conflict, anxiety, or self-deprecation." This single arrives as a most prominent work since his album for 4AD in 2017, and the title track sees rolling toms and keys glitter alongside call-and-response choruses, and a commanding guitar solo. The 1996 demo, done entirely on acoustic guitar, carries even more melancholy and like a lot of his work from this early period, it feels fragmented, even vulnerable, but never without touch of hope and sentimentality. A voice for a new generation.

Review: To mark a decade since its original release, Carrie & Lowell returns in expanded double vinyl edition through Asthmatic Kitty, curated and designed by Sufjan Stevens himself. The anniversary release addends 7 unreleased tracks, as well as a full 40-page art book, and a newly unearthed Polaroid cover revealing the album's namesake, handwritten by Sufjan's sister Djamilah. The booklet contains family photos over four generations, as well as Sufjan's own landscape photography taken throughout the American West, all reflecting themes of loss, memory, and place. The second LP compiles forty minutes of bonus material, including demos of 'Death With Dignity' and 'Eugene', atmospheric outtakes of 'Fourth of July' and 'Wallowa Lake Monster', and the original version of 'Mystery of Love', recorded during the album's sessions before its reworking for the infamous Timothee Chalamet actor-debut Call Me By Your Name.

Review: Sufjan Stevens' sprawling holiday collection, now available in a stunning six-vinyl package, proudly shows the artist's whimsical genius and profound creativity. Picking up from his earlier, ambitious anthology, this collection reimagines classic Christmas songs with playful audacity and emotional depth. Stevens transforms 'Let It Snow!' into a haunting duet that evokes ghostly reflections, while 'I'll Be Home for Christmas' is delivered with a haunting detachment, as if drifting through a dream. Tracks like 'Jingle Bells' and 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas' take on a psychedelic twist and 'Do You Hear What I Hear?' evolves into an exhilarating nine-minute drum & bass epic. Amid these reworkings, Stevens also honours timeless hymns with earnest renditions that retain their original charm. The entire collection reflects a joyous spirit that balances the season's commercialism with a genuine sense of hope and connection. From the spirited garage rock of 'Mr Frosty Man' to the ethereal beauty of 'Christmas in the Room', Stevens' originals shine brightly. The grand finale, 'Christmas Unicorn', begins as a playful folk tune before erupting into a euphoric chorus, weaving in echoes of Joy Division. This remarkable anthology is a delightful journey through festive sounds that invites listeners to embrace the joy of the season with open hearts.

Review: Sufjan Stevens is nothing short of an enigma. Capable of shapeshifting in almost unfathomable ways, he's the sort of artist that can release a spellbinding and technically astounding collection of piano duets, written to score a ballet, but give tracks names like 'And I Shall Come To You Like A Stormtrooper In Drag Serving Imperial Realness'. High brow while totally accessible, his back catalogue to date is one for which you'd struggle to find anyone who doesn't appreciate, once they've taken the time to listen. Here we are then, mere months after the aforementioned song and its parent album landed, getting to grips with another very different beast. Javelin certainly shares in the beauty that ran through its predecessor - Reflections - but whereas the last LP was relatively minimalist, here things are often the opposite. Big, rousing, 1960s-70s style pop numbers, soulful journeyman acoustic with backing chorus, theatrical soft rock and plenty more besides.