Fleet Foxes - Shore; Sufjan Stevens: The Ascension

The Guardian 80

(Anti-/Asthmatic Kitty)
Comeback albums from two pioneers of American indie rock chime with the times in very different ways

Upheaval, transformation, succour: many of us are either actively witnessing – or desperately seeking – these conditions right now. All three states flourish on a pair of albums released last week that, in their distinct ways, grapple with the present moment.

Sufjan Stevens and Fleet Foxes’ main man Robin Pecknold are the two big, sensitive beasts of the early 00s indie rock boom, and here they offer up works of thematic heft and considerable beauty that tackle their authors’ anxieties head-on. Shared roots in folk music and a love of layer-cake harmonies and hushed hymnals flows between them.

Stevens wants to get in your face, blow out your speakers and make you dance

Related: 'I have a sense of urgency': Sufjan Stevens wakes from the American dream