Music Video: Sufjan Stevens, "Too Much"
When most people think of Sufjan Stevens (if they think of him at all), the first things that come to mind are sweet, high-pitched melodies backed by gently fingerpicked guitar or wrapped in precious orchestral arrangements. Most people aren't aware that he also recorded an album of some pretty weird electronic noise a while back (2001's Enjoy Your Rabbit). This latest single falls somewhere in between.
"Too Much," a track off the songwriter's latest album, The Age of Adz, takes the singer's aforementioned sweet, high-pitched vocals and pairs them with some spastic, dance-friendly beats that seem to find a resting place between the more abrasive experiments of Sufjan's youth and the pop leanings of his later material. Folks who fell in love with Illinoise or Seven Swans may find moments of the track abrasive at first, but all the familiar sonic touches are there, you may just have to listen a bit harder to hear them.
As for the video, we're not sure if Sufjan has become a neon-drenched chillwave hipster or if he's mocking the same, but we're not sure we like it either way. It might work with the earlier sections of the song, but as the track moves into spacier, denser sonic textures, the one-note visuals start to wear thin.
Follow Technorati