Sufjan’s The BQE: Pretty Much Exactly What You’d Expect
Stevens’ multimedia effort takes surprisingly few chances.
Sufjan Stevens
The BQE
Released on Oct 20, 2009
Sufjan Stevens’ The BQE is a complicated mess to consider, both as an artistic endeavor and as an object of critical review. While the music itself is a relatively straightforward offering of symphonic fare inspired by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in New York, its presentation as soundtrack to both a documentary film and graphic novel complicates the way in which the music itself is received. As of this writing, I have not been fortunate enough to view The BQE’s accompanying paraphernalia, which may or may not be the best way to consider Sufjan’s latest offering. Sufjan, after all, is best known to a modern, pop/rock audience, whose attention span is generally short and reluctant to seek out supplemental materials. Much to Stevens’ frustration, most consumers of modern music have trouble absorbing whole albums, let alone companion films or graphic novels (although there are exceptions to every rule). Yet, considered on its musical own, The BQE feels disembodied, missing some kind of anchor that I imagine the companion material provides.
This is not to suggest that The BQE is not well-executed. Delivered in a rather ambitious framework of seven movements (with an introduction, a postlude, and several interludes included for good measure), the form allows great opportunity for pitfall and misstep, especially given the lack of vocals. Thankfully, Stevens handles these challenges admirably well, resisting the urge to “fill in” for missing vocals with bloated melodies and keeping the arrangements understated and free of clutter. Grandiose while still feeling subdued, expansive without feeling inflated, The BQE is best described as exactly what you’d expect Sufjan-penned classical symphony to sound like.
Such a statement holds true
with rare exception throughout The BQE, as the only glaring step out of line comes in the fourth movement, named
“Traffic Shock” which inexplicably runs the preceding movement through
a synthesizer and drum machine, warping and shifting the melody into
a warbly blast of electronica that is jarring when you first hear it,
though certainly not unpleasant once one passes the initial shock of
Techno Sufjan. One imagines that the accompanying film and graphic novel
better contextualize this burst of modernity in an otherwise classic-leaning
work, but on its own it is eyebrow-raising and more than a bit confusing.
Ultimately The BQE is a pleasant listening experience, though perhaps less of a departure for Stevens artistically than one might initially expect. There’s nothing, save for the aforementioned Techno Sufjan movement, which will surprise or shock those familiar with Stevens’ previous work. Rather, The BQE seems more a natural evolution of Stevens’ musical tendencies, both as an artist deeply connected to classical traditions in composition and arrangement, as well as a modern recording artist reacting against the single-driven world of iTunes downloads and infinite playlists in which we now live. In this sense, The BQE may very well be more interesting as a portrait of where Stevens is as an artist than as a standalone artistic endeavor.
High Point
I’m not yet positive that it’s a high point, but “Traffic Shock” is by far the most unusual and interesting element to an otherwise homogenous and generally standard-issue Sufjan Stevens offering.
Low Point
Stevens offers a capable and polished album, but he really doesn’t seem to be stretching himself at all on The BQE, which is unfortunate.
Posted by David Sitrick on Oct 20, 2009 @ 7:00 am
