Hitting 30 on the US Billboard 200 after only a little over a week after its release on October 6th, singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens’ new album “Javelin” defied audience expectations tenfold. This is Stevens’ tenth album in his 25-year career to date and harkens back to his earlier material in albums like “Illinois” and “Michigan,” where most songs consisted of himself and his guitar. “Javelin,” however, is much more interesting, as it contains radiant synthesizer parts, guest singers on some songs, and some electric guitar.
Stevens is incredibly dedicated to his craft, as he recorded, engineered, arranged, mixed, and produced on his own. The physical version of the album includes a 48-page art book, including ten short essays by Stevens that offer a window into his unique creative process.
However, Sufjan has not toured since 2015, and he exhibits little interest in doing so again. In a 2022 interview with Vulture, an entertainment magazine, the songwriter said that “touring is a huge expense. It requires a lot of money, time, resources, and energy. It isn’t necessarily healthy or sustainable. When you tour on a bus, you’re basically sleeping in a coffin. Then you get up in the morning and you’re in some strange location and you have to find your bearings, figure out where you are, and then read the script for the day.” Unfortunately, for the foreseeable future, it’s even more unlikely that he will tour for the next couple of years. In August of 2023, he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, but he refuses to let that stop him from staying optimistic: “It’s a slow process, but they say I will recover… I’m only in my second week of rehab but it is going really well and I am working really hard to get back on my feet. I’m committed to getting better. I’ll keep you posted as I progress. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. And a huge shout out to all the incredible caretakers of the world working night and day to help us heal.”