Illinoise - Sufjan Stevens

a standout album for me. From the first track Concerning the UFO sighting... the listener is surrounded by cold piano tones, quietly pulsing rhythms, surreal lyrics and Sufjan s characteristically soft and beautiful voice. Songs on this album can be split in to two general categories - the soft songs and the more upbeat songs. The soft songs are my favourites - the ones that really have made an impact on me are John Wayne Gacy Jr and The Seers Tower. John Wayne Gacy Jr is a strange and moving song. From images of the man as a child to thoughts on the killer s victims, this song is like a sort of twisted dreamlike story that is at points incredibly sad, accompanied ...