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The Ascension (Sufjan Stevens album)

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The Ascension
Sufjan Stevens The Ascension Cover.png
Studio album by
Sufjan Stevens
ReleasedSeptember 25, 2020 (2020-09-25)
Genre Electropop [1]
Length80:30
Label Asthmatic Kitty
Producer Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens chronology
Aporia
(2020)		The Ascension
(2020)		 Convocations
(2021)
Singles from The Ascension
  1. "America"
    Released: July 3, 2020
  2. "Video Game"
    Released: August 13, 2020
  3. "Sugar"
    Released: September 15, 2020

The Ascension is the eighth studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens. It was released through Asthmatic Kitty on September 25, 2020. [2] The record was influenced by a range of artists, particularly Ariana Grande and her 2018 song "Thank U, Next". [3]

Contents

Music and lyrics

NPR's Lindsay Zoladz describes The Ascension as "an 80-minute meditation that revisits nearly every one of the grand themes he has explored during his two-decade career: Love, death, faith, desire, place, country, apocalypse, resurrection." [4]

Release

The album's lead single, "America", was released on July 3, 2020. [5] A second single, "Video Game", was released on August 13 along with a music video choreographed by Jalaiah Harmon. [6] [7] A third single, "Sugar", and its music video were released on September 15. [8] [9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10 [10]
Metacritic 80/100 [11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
The A.V. Club B [13]
Exclaim! 10/10 [14]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [15]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [16]
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Paste 8.0/10 [18]
Pitchfork 7.0/10 [19]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [20]
Slant Magazine Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [21]

The Ascension received positive reviews upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to ratings from publications, the album received an average score of 80 based on 25 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [11] Music critic Tom Hull gave it an A-minus and said "singer-songwriter" may be "too self-limiting" a designation for Stevens, who "is a pop composer of grand sweep and delicate bearing, an heir to Brian Wilson working on if anything a broader canvas. His is not a style I'm fond of, but half of these songs click for me, and the others seem to be lurking in the depths, awaiting their moment." [22] Pitchfork 's Sam Sodomsky, however, was more tempered in his praise, noting: "But despite its allusions to pop music escapism, The Ascension is, by design, kind of a drag: a dark and emotionally distant mood piece whose lyrics rarely touch on the specifics necessary to anchor the music, and whose music is rarely exciting enough to elevate his words." [23]

Year-end lists

Publications' year-end list appearances for The Ascension
Critic/PublicationListRankRef
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 202019 [24]
Double J Top 50 Albums of 202030 [25]
Exclaim! Top 50 Best Albums of 202020 [26]
Mojo Top 75 Albums of 202050 [27]
The New York Times (Jon Pareles)Best Albums of 20201 [28]
Slant Magazine Top 50 Albums of 202017 [29]
Under the Radar Top 100 Albums of 202013 [30]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sufjan Stevens.

The Ascension track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Make Me an Offer I Cannot Refuse"5:18
2."Run Away with Me"4:07
3."Video Game"4:15
4."Lamentations"3:42
5."Tell Me You Love Me"4:21
6."Die Happy"5:46
7."Ativan"6:32
8."Ursa Major"3:42
9."Landslide"5:04
10."Gilgamesh"3:50
11."Death Star"4:04
12."Goodbye to All That"3:48
13."Sugar"7:36
14."The Ascension"5:56
15."America"12:29

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for The Ascension
Chart (2020)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [31] 28
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [32] 28
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [33] 107
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [34] 59
French Albums (SNEP) [35] 143
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [36] 26
Irish Albums (OCC) [37] 48
Portuguese Albums (AFP) [38] 34
Scottish Albums (OCC) [39] 15
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [40] 96
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [41] 44
UK Albums (OCC) [42] 35
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [43] 7
US Billboard 200 [44] 90
US Top Alternative Albums ( Billboard ) [45] 9
US Americana/Folk Albums ( Billboard ) [46] 1
US Independent Albums ( Billboard ) [47] 31
US Top Rock Albums ( Billboard ) [48] 18
US Indie Store Album Sales ( Billboard ) [49] 2

References

  1. ↑ Horner, Al (September 25, 2020). "'I have a sense of urgency': Sufjan Stevens wakes from the American dream". The Guardian . Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  2. ↑ Monroe, Jazz (June 30, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens Announces New Album The Ascension". Pitchfork . Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Sufjan Stevens on Making Pop Music in a Crisis". Vanity Fair. September 24, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  4. ↑ Zoladz, Lindsay (September 24, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens' New Album 'The Ascension': Fifty States Of Grey". NPR . Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  5. ↑ Alter, Rebecca (July 3, 2020). "Sob Through the 3rd of July with Sufjan Stevens's New Track, 'America'". Vulture . Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  6. ↑ Gregory, Allie (August 13, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens Shares New Single "Video Game"". Exclaim! . Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  7. ↑ Hughes, Will (August 14, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens Teams Up with 'Renegade' Dancer Jalaiah Harmon for 'Video Game'". The A.V. Club . Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  8. ↑ Graves, Wren (September 15, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens Unveils New Song "Sugar": Stream". Consequence of Sound . Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Sufjan Stevens shares new track 'Sugar'". DIY . September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  10. ↑ "The Ascension by Sufjan Stevens reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  11. 1 2 "The Ascension by Sufjan Stevens Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  12. ↑ Deming, Mark. "The Ascension – Sufjan Stevens". AllMusic . Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  13. ↑ Colburn, Randall. "Sufjan Stevens rages, despairs, and dances through The Ascension". The A.V. Club . Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  14. ↑ Gregory, Allie. "Sufjan Stevens Plots a Way Forward from Our Apocalyptic Present on Groundbreaking 'The Ascension'". Exclaim! . Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  15. ↑ Brown, Helen (September 24, 2020). "A loveably retro fleet of bulky analogue synths course through Sufjan Stevens' The Ascension". The Independent . Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  16. ↑ Harris, Sophie. "Sufjan Stevens The Ascension". Mojo (November 2020): 89.
  17. ↑ Mylrea, Hannah (September 23, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens – 'The Ascension': A sprawling and powerful dissection of modern humanity". NME. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  18. ↑ Wolper, Caitlin (September 23, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens' The Ascension Waxes Existential". Paste . Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  19. ↑ Sodomsky, Sam. "Sufjan Stevens: The Ascension". Pitchfork . Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  20. ↑ "The Ascension – Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  21. ↑ Walsh, Jordan (September 20, 2020). "Review: Sufjan Stevens's The Ascension Aims for Great Heights but Often Gets Lost". Slant Magazine . Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  22. ↑ Hull, Tom (October 6, 2020). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  23. ↑ Sodomsky, Sam (September 25, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens: The Ascension Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2020". Consequence of Sound . December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  25. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Double J . Australian Broadcasting Corporation. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  26. ↑ "50 Best Albums of 2020". Exclaim! . December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  27. ↑ Pearis, Bill. "MOJO's Top 75 Albums of 2020". BrooklynVegan . Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  28. ↑ Pareles, Jon; Caramanica, Jon; Zoladz, Lindsay (December 2, 2020). "Best Albums of 2020". The New York Times . Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  29. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Slant Magazine . December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2020". Under the Radar . January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  31. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  32. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Top Albums (Week 41, 2020)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Official Irish Albums Chart on 9/10/2020 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  38. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  39. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 9/10/2020 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  40. ↑ "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 41: del 2.10.2020 al 8.10.2020" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España . Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  41. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  42. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 9/10/2020 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  43. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 9/10/2020 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  44. ↑ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard . Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  45. ↑ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard . Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  46. ↑ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard . Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  47. ↑ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard . Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  48. ↑ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard . Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  49. ↑ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard . Retrieved October 25, 2020.
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