Two weeks and a day before you can purchase Sufjan Stevens' newest song-based album in five years, you can listen to the WHOLE THING over at NPR. The Age of Adz is due October 12 through Asthmatic Kitty, or Amazon depending on how much you want to pay for it. But the important thing here is that before you consider paying for it you can listen to it NOW!
What's more, the album leaked, but only a certain few have shared tracks with the interwebs. Pigeons and Planes has "Vesuvius" up for stream and download. Rich with the variances of the electronic and the orchestral, the choral and layered vocal tracks, this five-minute joy has grand intensity that feels like it has been dormant in Sufjan these past five years.
Out of the entire album though, "Futile Devices" made me grin like a fool, "Now That I'm Older" made a tear-jerking lump rise in my throat and "Impossible Soul" had some hilarious autotune surprises. Do you need any more motivation to go smile, cry and laugh to gorgeous music?