Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

Sufjan Stevenss second installment of his project to create an album for all the fifty states is Illinois. This twenty two track long album is filled with many well orchestrated tracks that all have a very rich a full feeling to them. The songs feature acoustic guitar, vibraphone, banjo, strings, accordion and much more. Stevens voice is sometimes compared to that of Elliott Smith since they share a similar raspy and ethereal characteristic. Illinois is filled with Stevens typical religious based songs (like the ones on his album Seven Swans) as well as ones about history (the Civil War) and even UFO Sightings. On the other hand, songs like 'Chicago' document more of a story; Chicago is wonderfully orchestrated, featuring a beautiful vibraphone introduction that sets off the song.