Sufjan Steven's The Avalanche Doesn't Match the Brilliance of Its Predecessor

The most important thing to keep in mind when listening to an artist's collection of b-sides is that there is a reason the songs have not appeared on said artist's previous albums.

With that in mind, Sufjan Stevens' "The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album" may be a little easier to accept for fans of indie rock's most recent poster boy. While "The Avalanche" lacks the polish of Steven's 2005 masterpiece, "Illinois," it still provides an interesting look into the mind of one of indie's more enigmatic artists.

"The Avalanche" is an extension of Stevens' 50 states project, an attempt to release an album for each state of the union (Steven's has admitted he will never complete this project, as he has no interest in writing an album about Texas).

"Illinois" and it's predecessor "Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State" were huge critical successes for Stevens due to the masterful weaving of orchestral and rock arrangements and lyrics that reflected both the history of the states in question and Steven's religious devotion.

"The Avalanche" doesn't stray far from Stevens' tried and true formula. The instrumentals are tight and the lyrics reflect a man who has done a great deal of homework on his subject. Even though his songs are much more musically and thematically complex than his contemporaries (who seem obsessed with distorted guitars and avant-garde subject matter), this new album still leaves something to be desired.

One of the strongest tributes of Stevens' music is his soft, inviting voice. From angelic vocal solos to harmonies worthy of a church choir, his work offers a much different feel than other indie favorites, such as the yelps of Modest Mouse front man Isaac Brock or the monotone, poetry-over music feel provided by the Hold Steady's Craig Finn.

Citing an influence of Stevens' music is an incredibly difficult task. He seems to be in both a class (and world) of his own as he jumps from tender strings melodies, to fluttering horn arrangements, to electronic instrumental tracks.

Still, his usually charming and varied style fall flat on most of "The Avalanche's" 21 tracks. It doesn't seem as though Mr. Stevens can hope to win over any new fans with this outing.

Three alternate recordings of "Chicago," (one of "Illinois'" shining jewels) offer little more than a chance for fans to praise Stevens' for the version he originally chose.

"Springfield, or Bobby Got a Shadfly Caught In His Hair" offers some of the album's strongest lyrics ("I can take the pillowcases off the yellow pillows, make a property line from the bed, in the living room, the morning papers, make the most out of nothing at all") but fails to provide the catchy instrumentals of Stevens' stronger work.

At four minutes and fifteen seconds, the track drags on far too long with droning banjos and dissonant guitar solos that never seem as interesting as the song's story of a young man losing his faith.

The album does feature several stand out tunes. "Adlai Stevenson" opens with a flare of regal horns and continues to lightheartedly tell the story of the titular character, a former Illinois governor whose accidental shooting of a childhood friend haunted him for his entire political career.

"The Henney Buggy Band" is an upbeat piece that shows both the artist's familiarity with the state of Illinois (Pick it up with the band on the Ronald Reagan Toll way) and his continuing struggle with religious life ("Oh Father John, you cannot tell me, what's right and wrong").

Both of these songs are stronger examples of Stevens' grasp of his subject matter and his ability to hook the listener with superb instrumental performances.

As far as b-side albums go, "The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album" is a mediocre attempt. It manages to capture the endearing qualities of Stevens' work, yet doesn't offer enough excitement to elevate it to he same level of his two main albums from the 50 states project.

On most of the tracks the instrumentals aren't as inspired, and therefore the fantastic lyrics suffer. Only a handful of songs truly stand out and make the listener wonder why they weren't on 'Illinois?'"

This effort clearly has a lot of heart in it, but it's not hard to see why most of these songs were not included on Stevens' previous album. Perhaps this just goes to show that he is a better artist for not letting a masterpiece get bogged down by average music.

Rating: 3/5