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10.0
135441
10.0 |
musicOMH
Continuing his prolific run, this magical, magnificent album is both blissfully sad and gloriously uplifting
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10.0
135455
10.0 |
The Arts Desk
Sufjan Stevens’s lyrics and music always stay close to the spiritual
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10.0
135486
10.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
A deeply personal, Earth-moving masterpiece exploring relationship tensions with the gravitas of an apocalypse and the simplicity of a melody passed down through generations
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10.0
135484
10.0 |
Evening Standard
With layers of gorgeous harmonies, Stevens has flown to new heights here
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10.0
135496
10.0 |
Spill Magazine
Another masterpiece from Sufjan Stevens and one of the year’s best records
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9.5
135553
9.5 |
Spectrum Culture
Javelin is an album made by a grieving spouse who took their years of being unable to shout his love from the rooftops and turned it into his magnum opus, blaring his dedication with a celebration worthy of a choir pledging allegiance to his broken heart
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9.2
135475
9.2 |
Paste Magazine
The Detroit indie hero returns to singer/songwriter mode for magnificent, riveting and gorgeous songs of sacrifice
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9.0
135456
9.0 |
Loud And Quiet
Javelin provides irrefutable proof that for all of his wild stylistic leaps and gifts for elaborate grand gestures, Sufjan Stevens’ most remarkable talents lay in emotionally resonant songwriting that really does not require many extra trimmings or gimmicks to move the listener to the core
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9.0
135458
9.0 |
DIY
It takes a confident stride back into personal territory and certainly gives 2015 a run for its money
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9.0
135606
9.0 |
Exclaim
In going inward over the years, he has created space for those grieving the death of a parent, those questioning the purpose of existence in the face of apocalypse, those wrestling with their faith, with whom they love, and ultimately with the loss of that love
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9.0
135498
9.0 |
Clash
‘Javelin’ is an outstanding record, technically brilliant, and emotionally bewitching
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9.0
135489
9.0 |
XS Noize
The album finds power in silence. His vocals may come across as nothing more than a comforting whisper at times, but they are delivered with a deafening punch. Javelin will disarm you instantly, bring you into a reflective state and show you the beauty found in heartache
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8.6
135467
8.6 |
Pitchfork
Sufjan’s masterful new album recalls his intimate singer-songwriter days. But it also draws on his entire catalog, his dazzling musicality, and his lifelong inquiries about love and devotion
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8.5
135556
8.5 |
Beats Per Minute
There’s a joyousness here, a heraldic anticipation that calls out to us from the center of its intricate environment
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8.0
135763
8.0 |
PopMatters
Sufjan Stevens draws on his broad musical experience and stylistic flexibility for his new LP, giving Javelin musical wisdom and making it one of his best
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8.0
135490
8.0 |
The FT
The singer-songwriter’s recent illness adds a bitter counterpoint to his music
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8.0
135495
8.0 |
The Observer
The singer-songwriter’s 10th album fuses his acoustic and electronic impulses to stunning effect
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8.0
135497
8.0 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
The subtle peak of 'My Red Little Fox' will stand as one of his best - Sufjan finds a ballroom hidden in the act of trying not to hide
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8.0
135485
8.0 |
All Music
Javelin is an album about the need to be loved, agape and philia, and Stevens shows that he can write about both without trivializing or minimizing the importance of either. That's a commendable achievement in any creative medium, and the fact that he's done so while creating some of the best music of his life makes this essential listening
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8.0
135470
8.0 |
Rolling Stone
His intimate vocals are bolstered by the addition of celestial choral harmonies, and his production is immense, yet every layered instrument and rackety beat feels meticulously deliberate
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8.0
135472
8.0 |
Under The Radar
A somnambulist journey into an ornate dream, Javelin may not be his masterpiece but it is the work of a master
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8.0
135474
8.0 |
NME
The prolific artist returns to “full singer-songwriter mode”, for a record of lush and intimate indie-folk
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8.0
135479
8.0 |
The Guardian
Deceptively simple songs burst into epic passages and walls of sound, with lyrical twists to match, in a remarkable album released as its creator recovers from an autoimmune condition
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8.0
135481
8.0 |
The Irish Times
Detroit singer releases 10th studio album following an autoimmune disorder diagnosis
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8.0
135483
8.0 |
The Independent
Each song operates less like the smoothly thrown javelin of the title and more like dandelion clocks plucked by Stevens, who carefully rotates them to admire their complexity
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8.0
135462
8.0 |
Northern Transmissions
It’s an excellent distillation of his idiosyncrasies which he has deftly developed throughout his career
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8.0
135433
8.0 |
The Skinny
On Javelin, Sufjan Stevens sees himself as a blight on a beautiful world. When loved, his pain is suspended and he transcends, but such mercy is resigned to his past
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8.0
135434
8.0 |
Slant Magazine
The album doesn’t just feel like a return to form—it feels resurgent
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8.0
135435
8.0 |
Uncut
Javelin sounds like a proper Sufjan Stevens album, picking up the lyrical and sonic threads of Carrie & Lowell and 2010's The Age Of Adz. Print edition only
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8.0
135436
8.0 |
Mojo
Still adept at spectacular, if somewhat opaque intimacy, he enchants on My Red Little Fox, with its baroque recorders. Print edition only
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