Sufjan Stevens performs 3 acoustic songs on New York Radio
Last week, Brooklyn-based indie folk legend Sufjan Stevens stopped by the Soundcheck studio of WNYC (New York Public Radio) to discuss his latest album, The Age of Adz, released last October. He also performed three tracks on the show with the help of The National’s Bryce Dessner on guitar: Heilroom from his 2010 EP All Delighted People, followed by Futile Devices and Pleasure Principle from the aforementioned Age of Adz.
Pleasure Principle is the hushed folk coda to the 25-minute-long bewildering extravaganza Impossible Soul (I still can’t get over the autotune part). For the fans somewhat baffled and frustrated by the experimental direction of the latest album (in a word, too much blipetiblip electronica noises in place of his trademark haunting melodies and understated, clear guitar lines – Stevens admits himself it was some form of “sabotage” in the interview), these beautifully fragile acoustic renditions are a powerful reminder of how good the “old” Sufjan can be.
You can download the full 20 minute podcast here. I also ripped the three tracks into one .zip file on Megaupload: Link 1.
