Albums to watch

Aporia

Sufjan Stevens & Lowell Brams

Aporia

Collaboration between Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather and Asthmatic Kitty records co-founder Lowell Brams

ADM rating[?]

7.0

Label
Asthmatic Kitty
UK Release date
27/03/2020
US Release date
27/03/2020
  1. 10.0 |   Gigwise

    A beautifully crafted, transcendent piece of work
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  2. 8.3 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Described by Stevens and Brams as a New Age-inspired album, Aporia accomplishes exactly that, functioning as a recovered soundtrack to a long-lost, fictitious sci-fi film
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  3. 8.0 |   Clash

    A record comprising 21 tracks of nearly-voiceless, new-age compositions, manufactured from their own jam sessions
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  4. 8.0 |   The Arts Desk

    This is an album full of hidden riches, many of which are only revealed through repeated listening
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  5. 8.0 |   XS Noize

    Aporia is not a pop recording, but instead is a noteworthy musical creation originating from two unique Electronica geniuses
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  6. 8.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    Influenced by New Age music, sci-fi soundtracks and ancient Greek philosophy and theology, the album is the result of years of casual music-making at Stevens’ home studio
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  7. 7.8 |   Paste Magazine

    Many of the album’s successes are thanks to Lowell’s experienced hand (noticeably shy about his own talent in comparison to his stepson’s) as he’s been recording electronic music since Sufjan was 11 years old
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  8. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    Sufjan Stevens' and Lowell Brams' Aporia is ambient music meant to calm and provide a background to the quotidian aspects of one's day
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  9. 7.0 |   Long Live Vinyl

    Edited from jams compiled over years, largely instrumental and influenced by Vangelis, Boards Of Canada and Eno, this isn’t a record for anyone hoping for new songs
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  10. 7.0 |   Exclaim

    Aporia is foremost an exercise in collaboration — a meeting between two perpetually entangled personalities, an ode to their decades-long father-son relationship and a fitting conclusion to their musically enriched partnership
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  11. 6.8 |   Pitchfork

    Eleven years after Music for Insomnia, Stevens and his stepfather reunite on a collection of warm, improvisatory synth-wave epics; intimate and unvarnished, they double as a testament to the power of found family
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  12. 6.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Overall, most of the tracks are indistinguishable from each other. Had the album been streamlined and sounds been combined into the same track as their foils, perhaps it would better evoke emotion
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  13. 6.0 |   The Independent

    As a soundtrack album to meditate to, Aporia is pleasant, but there’s no denying that the absence of Stevens’s typically ornate songcraft is keenly felt
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  14. 5.0 |   No Ripcord

    How great could this album have been if Stevens and Bram had stretched out and developed eight of the decent tracks into something special, and ditched the stoner sketches?
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  15. 4.0 |   The Irish Times

    The sentiment is undeniably sweet, but the end result isn’t a particularly gratifying listening experience. Best file this one under “dodgy side project”
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