Sufjan Stevens
Songs for Christmas (Asthmatic Kitty)
Some locals were so turned off by Sufjan Stevens’ pretentiousness during his September shows at the Paramount that they erased his music from their iPods. At the time, it seemed like a ridiculous reaction to every indie hipster’s favorite singing-songwriting Christian, but Songs for Christmas actually lends the tiniest breath of credence to that indictment. Christmas represents everything that’s both annoyingly wrong and perfectly breathtaking about Stevens’ work. These five boxed EPs began as an annual DIY holiday project in 2001, with Stevens and his friends recording songs in his kitchen and sending out copies of the finished product to far-flung friends and relations. The 42 songs comprise both original compositions and holiday standards such as “Silent Night” and “The Little Drummer Boy,” which are predictably fresh and gorgeous interpretations. The originals, on the other hand, are the proverbial wild card. The problem with an artist as prolific as Stevens, who has an epic ear for composition and orchestration, is that somewhat fussy woodwind arrangements begin sounding all too familiar just as listeners begins questioning Stevens’ range as an artist and their unflinching faith in just how awesome he is. While its intent is admirable, “Put the Lights on the Tree” is indicative of the clichés that rear their heads in this set. Some of the songs, like “We’re Goin’ to the Country!” are so bad it hurts. Then again, it’s hard to imagine any more singularly beautiful way to recognize Christ’s birth (if you roll that way) than with the devotion expressed in “What Child Is This Anyway?” The plaintive harmonies and its shambling instrumentation all suggest humility those pretension-hating boho grinches might have missed in their haste to hit “delete.” And that, friends, is how Sufjan Stevens saved Christmas.
This article appears in December 22 • 2006.