The Ascension is the eighth studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens. It was released through Asthmatic Kitty on September 25, 2020.[2] The record was influenced by a range of artists, particularly Ariana Grande and her 2018 song "Thank U, Next".[3]

Music and lyrics

NPR's Lindsay Zoladz describes The Ascension as "an 80-minute meditation that revisits nearly every one of the grand themes he has explored during his two-decade career: Love, death, faith, desire, place, country, apocalypse, resurrection."[4]

Release

The album's lead single, "America", was released on July 3, 2020.[5] A second single, "Video Game", was released on August 13 along with a music video choreographed by Jalaiah Harmon.[6][7] A third single, "Sugar", and its music video were released on September 15.[8][9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10[10]
Metacritic80/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
The A.V. ClubB[13]
Exclaim!10/10[14]
The Independent[15]
Mojo[16]
NME[17]
Paste8.0/10[18]
Pitchfork7.0/10[19]
Record Collector[20]
Slant Magazine[21]
The Sydney Morning Herald[22]

The Ascension received positive reviews upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to ratings from publications, the album received an average score of 80 based on 25 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11] Music critic Tom Hull gave it an A-minus and said "singer-songwriter" may be "too self-limiting" a designation for Stevens, who "is a pop composer of grand sweep and delicate bearing, an heir to Brian Wilson working on if anything a broader canvas. His is not a style I'm fond of, but half of these songs click for me, and the others seem to be lurking in the depths, awaiting their moment."[23] Pitchfork's Sam Sodomsky, however, was more tempered in his praise, noting: "But despite its allusions to pop music escapism, The Ascension is, by design, kind of a drag: a dark and emotionally distant mood piece whose lyrics rarely touch on the specifics necessary to anchor the music, and whose music is rarely exciting enough to elevate his words."[24]

Year-end lists

Publications' year-end list appearances for The Ascension
Critic/Publication List Rank Ref
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2020 19 [25]
Double J Top 50 Albums of 2020 30 [26]
Exclaim! Top 50 Best Albums of 2020 20 [27]
Mojo Top 75 Albums of 2020 50 [28]
The New York Times (Jon Pareles) Best Albums of 2020 1 [29]
Slant Magazine Top 50 Albums of 2020 17 [30]
Under the Radar Top 100 Albums of 2020 13 [31]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sufjan Stevens

The Ascension track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Make Me an Offer I Cannot Refuse"5:18
2."Run Away with Me"4:07
3."Video Game"4:15
4."Lamentations"3:42
5."Tell Me You Love Me"4:21
6."Die Happy"5:46
7."Ativan"6:32
8."Ursa Major"3:42
9."Landslide"5:04
10."Gilgamesh"3:50
11."Death Star"4:04
12."Goodbye to All That"3:48
13."Sugar"7:36
14."The Ascension"5:56
15."America"12:29

Personnel

  • Sufjan Stevens – vocals (all tracks), drums and percussion (all tracks), Tempest (1–13, 15), electric guitar (1, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15), Prophet '08 (all tracks), Prophet 6 (1–11, 13, 15), Prophet X (1, 4, 7–9, 13–15), piano (2, 5, 14, 15), recorders (11, 15); performance, recording, engineering, arrangement, mixing, production; all original art, layout, design, typography
  • Casey Foubert – bass guitar (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13), vibraphone (1), electric guitar (2, 4, 6–8, 11), lead electric guitar (9, 10, 15); recording and engineering (own contributions)
  • Bryce Dessner – electric guitar (1)
  • Emil Nikolaisen – black magic (1, 8); engineering (own contributions)
  • James McAlister – additional drums and percussion (3–6), vocal cut-up effects (4); recording and engineering (own contributions)
  • TW Walsh – mastering

Charts

Chart performance for The Ascension
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[32] 28
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[33] 28
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[34] 107
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[35] 59
French Albums (SNEP)[36] 143
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[37] 26
Irish Albums (OCC)[38] 48
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[39] 34
Scottish Albums (OCC)[40] 15
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[41] 96
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 44
UK Albums (OCC)[43] 35
US Billboard 200[44] 90
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[45] 9
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[46] 1
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[47] 31
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[48] 18
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[49] 2

References

  1. ^ Horner, Al (September 25, 2020). "'I have a sense of urgency': Sufjan Stevens wakes from the American dream". The Guardian. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  2. ^ Monroe, Jazz (June 30, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens Announces New Album The Ascension". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  3. ^ "Sufjan Stevens on Making Pop Music in a Crisis". Vanity Fair. September 24, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  4. ^ Zoladz, Lindsay (September 24, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens' New Album 'The Ascension': Fifty States Of Grey". NPR. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  5. ^ Alter, Rebecca (July 3, 2020). "Sob Through the 3rd of July with Sufjan Stevens's New Track, 'America'". Vulture. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  6. ^ Gregory, Allie (August 13, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens Shares New Single "Video Game"". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  7. ^ Hughes, Will (August 14, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens Teams Up with 'Renegade' Dancer Jalaiah Harmon for 'Video Game'". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  8. ^ Graves, Wren (September 15, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens Unveils New Song "Sugar": Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  9. ^ "Sufjan Stevens shares new track 'Sugar'". DIY. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  10. ^ "The Ascension by Sufjan Stevens reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  11. ^ a b "The Ascension by Sufjan Stevens Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  12. ^ Deming, Mark. "The Ascension – Sufjan Stevens". AllMusic. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  13. ^ Colburn, Randall. "Sufjan Stevens rages, despairs, and dances through The Ascension". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  14. ^ Gregory, Allie. "Sufjan Stevens Plots a Way Forward from Our Apocalyptic Present on Groundbreaking 'The Ascension'". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  15. ^ Brown, Helen (September 24, 2020). "A loveably retro fleet of bulky analogue synths course through Sufjan Stevens' The Ascension". The Independent. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  16. ^ Harris, Sophie. "Sufjan Stevens The Ascension". Mojo (November 2020): 89.
  17. ^ Mylrea, Hannah (September 23, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens – 'The Ascension': A sprawling and powerful dissection of modern humanity". NME. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  18. ^ Wolper, Caitlin (September 23, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens' The Ascension Waxes Existential". Paste. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  19. ^ Sodomsky, Sam. "Sufjan Stevens: The Ascension". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  20. ^ "The Ascension – Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  21. ^ Walsh, Jordan (September 20, 2020). "Review: Sufjan Stevens's The Ascension Aims for Great Heights but Often Gets Lost". Slant Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  22. ^ Divola, Barry (September 25, 2020). "Music reviews: Sufjan Stevens, Idles, A Swayze & the Ghosts and more". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  23. ^ Hull, Tom (October 6, 2020). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  24. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (September 25, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens: The Ascension Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  25. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2020". Consequence of Sound. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  26. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Double J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  27. ^ "50 Best Albums of 2020". Exclaim!. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  28. ^ Pearis, Bill. "MOJO's Top 75 Albums of 2020". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  29. ^ Pareles, Jon; Caramanica, Jon; Zoladz, Lindsay (December 2, 2020). "Best Albums of 2020". The New York Times. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  30. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Slant Magazine. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  31. ^ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2020". Under the Radar. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  32. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  33. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  34. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  35. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  36. ^ "Top Albums (Week 41, 2020)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  37. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  38. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  39. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  40. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  41. ^ "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 41: del 2.10.2020 al 8.10.2020" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  42. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  43. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  44. ^ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  45. ^ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  46. ^ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  47. ^ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  48. ^ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  49. ^ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
Allikas: Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ascension_(Sufjan_Stevens_album)
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