Rough Trade (label)
04 July 2005 (released)
21 July 2005
Only a man of unparalleled vision and ambition could even begin to contemplate a project as expansive as writing an album for every state in the USA. When, on the release of Michigan, Sufjan Stevens – a then relatively unknown artist hailing from that same state – announced he was the man for the job, perhaps only a few people could have taken him seriously. Yet, two years on, it seems he's not taken his eye off the ball, and for that blessing we can be thankful.
Illinois, state number two, sees Stevens in fine form, and is at least the equal of album number one of fifty. Produced and largely performed by Stevens himself the album is an astounding feat of ingenuity. Stylistically not much has changed: quiet lullabies for the lost, lonely and clinically insane (the sympathetically recounted story of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, Jr. a case in point) gently picked out on banjo and guitar are set against rather more elaborate arrangements, less than popular time signatures, and resplendent horn sections. The addition of a string section adds pleasingly epic dimension to the catchy trundle of 'Jacksonville' and the overtly funky 'They Are Night Zombies!!...' and the lyrics are as ever: touching, insightful, captivating and intensely well informed – Stevens holds a Masters in Creative Writing, and at this rate should be well on the way to completing a Doctorate in American Cultural Research provided he keeps his notebook in order…
Where Michigan was at times painfully personal, Illinois is often detached, distant, and reliant upon research and history rather than experience and memory. As an album it represents a departure and exploration of sorts, and for this reason it has the potential to be regarded (in the context of Stevens' previous work) as insubstantial, cold, a historical, socio-political document rather than a personal diary. Nevertheless, as ghostly images of Carl Sandberg warn Stevens to write from the heart you can't help but feel that without doubt he is. Stevens never fails to get to the heart of the matter.