Seven Swans

About

<i>Michigan</i> could have become a trap for Sufjan Steven. Soon after his 2003 opus became one of that year’s most acclaimed album, he was then known as both “the state guy”—one who was supposedly making an album about all 50 states—and “the orchestral indie guy,” as his music swelled with horn, glockenspiel, and little choir. Arriving only eight months later, in early 2004, <i>Seven Swans</i> was something of his salvation. Stevens had touched on Christianity before, but he dove into it entirely here, telling stories from the Bible and wondering how they fit into complex lives of turmoil and trauma. What’s more, <i>Seven Swans</i> was a smaller-sounding album, with gently picked banjo or strummed guitar traced by faint keyboard, careful drums—and, sometime, nothing at all. The material that became <i>Seven Swans</i> actually predated much of <i>Michigan</i>. During solo sets that followed his first two album, Stevens would pull from a pool of acoustic tunes about faith, playing for smaller audience. As he worked on his ode to his home state, he would sometimes decamp to New Jersey to join his friends in the Danielson Famile, a folk group with close ties to Steven, as well to as the indie-Christian scene. Together, they played with the looseness that close camaraderie can foster, as the Danielson members gathered around to hear a trusted pal unload his burden. .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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