10/06/04
SUFJAN STEVENS & ABERFELDY
BY CLAIRE CRAIG

A truly exquisite venue plays perfect host tonight to wistful, floating lyrics, to beautiful performers in white feathers and to lectures on American geography. Plucked instruments, guitars capo-ed at the highest frets and twinkling xylophones are the order of the day and as Sufjan Stevens plays narrator, musician, teacher and all round nice guy of hippie descent, tales of working class Middle America become stuff of fairytale and legend.

In support, Aberfeldy, a five-piece from Edinburgh, provide upbeat folk-influenced pop of the most charming and harmless variety. Apparently only their second live outing in London, their inexperience is exposed by the singer's inter-song awkwardness but forgiven on the grounds of intra-song perfection. A great, if unusual, voice is complemented by seamless and picture-perfect backing from two lovely ladies who also display their musical prowess through the fiddle, the xylophone, the keyboard and something which, excuse my ignorance, looks like an electric mandolin. Backing vocalists so impressive and able are few and far between, and it will likely be on their merit as much as that of the strong tunes that this band will gain and hold momentum in the fickle world of music.

Greeting the audience, and announcing that "this one goes out to the one I love," Sufjan Stevens glides into a solo cover of the REM song that gave that phrase its rhythm and meaning. Intricate finger-picking guitar (no picks here tonight) and somewhat eerie vocals perfectly reset the atmosphere as the heat in Bush Hall rises to levels that elsewhere would be intolerable, Sufjan, with his striking good looks and soft voice sends chills around the enraptured audience. Joined by the five members of his band to continue with 'Sister' from this year's album, 'Seven Swans,' Sufjan creates an ambiance not entirely dissimilar to an effort by Sigur Ros with less instruments and synthesizers (oh, and with vocals in a real language).

The simplicity of the music is a clever illusion intricate guitar parts on strings strained under capos are mirrored by the equally complex moments on the banjo. It's a bit of a shame that the drums have been too loud all night, and the retuning of guitars in between songs left Sufjan struggling at one moment to keep his banjo in tune with his velveteen voice. The only superfluous and weak part of the arrangements here are, in stark contrast to the previous band, the two backing singers. Two here could easily have been replaced by one as if they ever sang in harmony with each other it was entirely inaudible and their presence was redundant and at times bordering on ungainly.

Sufjan Stevens' flourishing fame may be in part due to his claim that he will write one album for each American state; hence the creation of 'Michigan'. With the aid of an overhead projector and a sketch map Sufjan takes us on a journey across his home state. Each town marked on the map, including 'Hell' and 'Paradise,' has a story for Sufjan to tell and subsequently a song to sing. Traverse City for example leads to a tale of a teenage love and then to 'The Dress Looks Nice on You' and subsequently 'Size Too Small,' written about watching the marriage of the treasured companion in an uncomfortably tight tuxedo. 'He Woke Me Up Again' relates to events brought about due to "experimental trial and error parenting" in his family's second home town of Pickerel Lake and title track 'Seven Swans' recounts rum goings-on due to the odd magnetic forces around the 45th Parallel, a geographic line halfway between the equator and the north pole, and on which Sufjan's father's house lay.

Whether or not these tales are as fantastic as his plan to write 50+ albums about America (Sufjan admitted this week on national radio that this was all a joke, although he may now think again as he's started looking around Illinois for new inspiration) is entirely irrelevant it makes for an original and attention-grabbing stage show through simplicity and traditional emphasis on storytelling and entertainment. As well as showcasing some of the gentlest and involving music around, a light-hearted and informative geography lesson it was; we were taught several useful facts about Michigan, including celebrities there born, and I have come away, with the help of a handy acronym, knowing forever the names of the Great Lakes surrounding Michigan.

Whilst some artists are felt to be well established enough to be nearing the end of their career with their fourth album, one gets the feeling that four marks only the very beginning for Sufjan Stevens. With them being released at a whirlwind rate, maybe his career is going to be just as prolific as he has pledged. Time of course will only tell if he will deliver the inexhaustible songwriting that he promises. As long as he continues to write, I feel, he will have enraptured audiences everywhere.

Check out www.sufjan.com for all the online joy you could want.

Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior (proud of my new knowledge, am I).