Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 10/20/2009
After successfully navigating his way into the mainstream with 2005's epic
Illinoise, ultra-prolific
indie pop prince
Sufjan Stevens had no intention of laying low. Instead, he released a set of
Illinoise outtakes, a five-disc collection of Christmas songs, and staged a "symphonic and cinematic exploration of New York City's infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway" that included a self-made Super 8 mm film, a full orchestra, and a small army of hula hoopers performing live in front of a sold-out Brooklyn Academy of Music. While it could be argued that the ambitious
BQE serves as the "New York" chapter in his abandoned 50 states project, it hardly fits in with the other two entries. Many
pop musicians have ventured into the
classical realm (
David Byrne,
Paul McCartney,
Roger Waters,
Elvis Costello, to name a few), but
Stevens had already been dabbling in strings, woodwinds, and horns quite admirably since his
lo-fi 2000 debut. Closer to the
Godfrey Reggio/
Philip Glass collaboration
Koyaanisqatsi than it is to
Byrne's
The Forest, fans of the liberal, staccato woodwinds that peppered
Illinoise will find much of the
BQE familiar. As always,
Stevens' melodies are circular, occasionally precious, and often dissonant, but they are presented here with a maturity that will no doubt turn more than a few heads in the classical community, while simultaneously turning some away in the
indie pop world. The package itself is truly impressive, boasting a highly stylized Japanese pop art-inspired jacket, a 40-page booklet, a stereoscopic 3D View-Master reel and a DVD of the Super 8 mm film that accompanied the performance. As lyrical a musician as he is, without his commanding use of language (the song cycle is entirely instrumental), the
BQE loses some momentum near the end, but by then it's become clear that, as is the case with all of his projects, the term "half-assed" does not apply.
~James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
;)
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