Convocations

Sufjan Stevens - Convocations
Critic Score
Based on 9 reviews
2021 Ratings: #596 / 741
User Score
Based on 143 ratings
2021 Ratings: #928
Liked by 6 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
Spill Magazine

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
The Arts Desk
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
Exclaim!

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
Uncut
It is by turns curious, brittle, exquisite, and surely among the most accomplished and beautiful records of Stevens’ career.
75
Consequence of Sound
It’s a slow and patient exploration of grief, layered with moments of surprising melodic beauty.
70
FLOOD Magazine
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
NME
‘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
Loud and Quiet

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.

mike_drop
60

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

FritoRio
60

Cockcations

TheCarioca
55

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

vinylmeister
60

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.

mike_drop
60

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

kattenbroekcom
70

It's good background music. It's very boring but it's good in the background.

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Track List

  1. Meditation I
  2. Meditation II
  3. Meditation III
  4. Meditation IV
  5. Meditation V
  6. Meditation VI
  7. Meditation VII
  8. Meditation VIII
  9. Meditation IX
  10. Meditation X
  11. Lamentation I
  12. Lamentation II
  13. Lamentation III
  14. Lamentation IV
  15. Lamentation V
  16. Lamentation VI
  17. Lamentation VII
  18. Lamentation VIII
  19. Lamentation IX
  20. Lamentation X
  21. Revelation I
  22. Revelation II
  23. Revelation III
  24. Revelation IV
  25. Revelation V
  26. Revelation VI
  27. Revelation VII
  28. Revelation VIII
  29. Revelation IX
  30. Revelation X
  31. Celebration I
  32. Celebration II
  33. Celebration III
  34. Celebration IV
  35. Celebration V
  36. Celebration VI
  37. Celebration VII
  38. Celebration VIII
  39. Celebration IX
  40. Celebration X
  41. Incantation I
  42. Incantation II
  43. Incantation III
  44. Incantation IV
  45. Incantation V
  46. Incantation VI
  47. Incantation VII
  48. Incantation VIII
  49. Incantation IX
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Added on: April 6, 2021