- Record Label: Asthmatic Kitty
- Release Date: Jul 11, 2006
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Most of these songs are just as good, if not better, than the ones that actually made the cut.
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These wistful folk-pop leftovers are better than most acts' A game.
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The more interesting discussion to be had about The Avalanche is whether it says more about Sufjan Stevens or everyone else that a collection of even his second-tier material ranks among the most superior releases of the year.
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No, this album is not superfluous -- far from it. The Avalanche brings Stevens' exacting vision on Illinois into sharper focus.
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Avalanche,... is all over the place musically but never loses the singer-songwriter's jaw-dropping vision.
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The Avalanche's best songs would've been Illinois standouts as well.
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Stevens is a pensively nostalgic folk chorister like the Paul Simon of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme: he is just as prone to swerving into an epiphanic Bach-lite chorale, but as yet short of memorable tunes on his own account. He's close enough to be fascinating, though.
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Although not as flat-out amazing as its parent album, this new record shows us that even Stevens’s warmed-up leftovers are more creative, engaging, sophisticated, beautiful, and simply better than what most other musical acts have to offer with their A-list material.
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The biggest upside to the release, however, is that now the intrepid Illinois enthusiast can cobble together one super playlist.
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UncutYet another work of widescreen beauty and magnificent ambition. [Aug 2006, p.86]
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You simply have to marvel at the talents of a man who is surely amongst the most gifted and fascinating musicians of modern times, even if "The Avalanche" does feel like a vaguer retread of the absolute bravura seen on its big brother.
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Alternative PressIf anything, the quality of Stevens' B-sides further validates the folk-hero legacy he's begun. [Sep 2006, p.212]
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It's hard not to compare the two albums and find this one wanting; even the best songs, which are quite good, wouldn't bump anything off of Illinois.
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Under The RadarWhat Stevens does most successfully here is expand the notion of American song. [#14]
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Stevens constructed an alternate version of Illinois that is almost as good as the original.
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More of the same, but we don't mind.
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All the songs here are fully realised and often the equal of those on their parent album.
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The Avalanche is a great record, but one that may have benefited from its creator learning to be a little more detached from his compositions.
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BlenderIt's like School House Rock for hip kids. [Aug 2006, p.117]
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MojoThis whets the appetitie for whatever Stevens' formidable talent fixes upon next. [Aug 2006, p.96]
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SpinRemarkably, the songs on Avalanche are nearly as good as the ones on Illinois, although with surprising synth bursts and craggy guitar noise that were sandpapered off of its predecessor. [Aug 2006, p.79]
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Listening to The Avalanche is a lot like going back to visit old friends - familiar, cozy and safe.
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Paste MagazineA shadow version of its decorated predecessor. [Aug 2006, p.91]
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There’s a wealth of great material buried within The Avalanche, if you don’t mind digging.
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Anyone expecting a pared down, contented Sufjan can bugger off. If anything, The Avalanche chases his caprice and whimsy further down the rabbit hole.
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There's a difference between a damn fine song and the brilliance that made up Stevens's previous two releases, Illinois and Seven Swans. Unfortunately, The Avalanche clunks through track after track of damn fine songs while only rarely hitting these moments that make your body tingle in euphoria.
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There's very little here that ups the ante (or matches the highlights) of the original Illinois disc.
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Ultimately, The Avalanche lacks the lasting impact of Illinois, as its songs don’t quite hold the same sense of gravitas, economy, and focus.
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Rolling StoneThe Avalanche packs enough weirdo magic to make it more than just a gift to his growing cult. [13 Jul 2006, p.104]
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Q MagazineA notch above an off-cuts collection. [Aug 2006, p.116]
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The Avalanche is, perhaps predictably, a middling reconstitution of its legitimate predecessor.
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Too often his songs fail to captivate beyond a curiosity factor.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 52 out of 59
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Mixed: 4 out of 59
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Negative: 3 out of 59
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MattStepAug 31, 2007
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PhilipCSep 21, 2006Vastly overrated, even more so than the rest of his catalogue.
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ChadMAug 25, 2006