Convocations
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CRITIC REVIEWS
90
Convocations is a serious work and well worth the time invested listening to it. It may not be Sufjan’s best work or even his most adventurous, but it is a bold statement.
80
He plays with the mind-bending quality of harmonics, and the eerie feel of indeterminate pitch. There is beauty here, but also a certain terror – as if the abyss were never far away.
80
Your reception towards Convocations will depend on your patience, your tolerance for experimental albums, and whether you're even a fan of Stevens' instrumental work to begin with.
80
It is by turns curious, brittle, exquisite, and surely among the most accomplished and beautiful records of Stevens’ career.
75
It’s a slow and patient exploration of grief, layered with moments of surprising melodic beauty.
70
The nonstop push and pull over the course of two-and-a-half hours and five volumes creates a sort of structural elasticity to the music that draws the listener in as much as it repels them.
60
‘Convocations’ is a mature work, but its length and intricate creation makes it difficult to get under its skin, the record’s wonderful honesty hidden behind layers that you wish could be peeled back.
40
Convocations is undoubtedly cathartic. Parts are beautiful, haunting even, but across its two-and-a-half hours it’s a necessary requiem of self-indulgence for Sufjan Stevens rather than a compelling project from heartbreak’s luminary, whose insular yet evangelical compositions have scored decades of sorrow.
Sufjan Stevens - 12/13
Since I don't have that much to say about this album, I'll just get straight to the point: it's decent. Honestly, considering how lifeless and boring "Aporia" was, I was absolutely dreading having to go through all of this, let alone more than once, so as to feel confident enough to write a well-rounded review for it. However, I actually found "Convocations'" daunting size to aid it, in ways, making it a much more enthralling, meditative and ... read more
Meditation I - 4/5
Meditation II - 3/5
Meditation III - 4/5
Meditation IV - 4/5
Meditation V - 3/5
Meditation VI - 5/5 ❤
Meditation VII - 3/5
Meditation VIII - 3/5
Meditation IX - 3/5
Meditation X - 3/5
Lamentation I - 3/5
Lamentation II - 0/5 ☢
Lamentation III - 3/5
Lamentation IV - 1/5
Lamentation V - 2/5
Lamentation VI - 3/5
Lamentation VII - 4/5
Lamentation VIII - 3/5
Lamentation IX - 3/5
Lamentation X - 4/5
Revelation I - 4/5
Revelation II - 1/5
Revelation III - 3/5
Revelation IV - ... read more
Rating this collection of ambient pieces is difficult because I don't generally listen to this with the same mindset as other albums. This is strictly meditative ambient stuff, and if you aren't into it you won't get much out of it.
Sufjan Stevens - 12/13
Since I don't have that much to say about this album, I'll just get straight to the point: it's decent. Honestly, considering how lifeless and boring "Aporia" was, I was absolutely dreading having to go through all of this, let alone more than once, so as to feel confident enough to write a well-rounded review for it. However, I actually found "Convocations'" daunting size to aid it, in ways, making it a much more enthralling, meditative and ... read more
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Track List
- Meditation I
- Meditation II
- Meditation III
- Meditation IV
- Meditation V
- Meditation VI
- Meditation VII
- Meditation VIII
- Meditation IX
- Meditation X
- Lamentation I
- Lamentation II
- Lamentation III
- Lamentation IV
- Lamentation V
- Lamentation VI
- Lamentation VII
- Lamentation VIII
- Lamentation IX
- Lamentation X
- Revelation I
- Revelation II
- Revelation III
- Revelation IV
- Revelation V
- Revelation VI
- Revelation VII
- Revelation VIII
- Revelation IX
- Revelation X
- Celebration I
- Celebration II
- Celebration III
- Celebration IV
- Celebration V
- Celebration VI
- Celebration VII
- Celebration VIII
- Celebration IX
- Celebration X
- Incantation I
- Incantation II
- Incantation III
- Incantation IV
- Incantation V
- Incantation VI
- Incantation VII
- Incantation VIII
- Incantation IX
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1y
To be honest so far this sounds like 24/7 royalty free ambient music to relax/study to
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Added on: April 6, 2021