When a good friend of mine described Sufjan Stevens as "bridging the gap between arty and wacky," and "hometown proud," (this last uttered in a breathless sigh of admiration) I knew it was worth hopping over to the iTunes Music Store to hear some samples of his latest album. Boy am I glad I did.

You know that saying about roller-skating through the art museum? How, if the painting doesn't grab you in the time it takes to roll past it, you shouldn't be interested? That's how I feel about Sufjan Stevens. Ten seconds into my first 30-second sample clip, I knew I was going to buy this album. (Luckily, I chose "Chicago," which is a single currently being played on college radio.)

Entitled Sufjan Stevens Invites You to Come On Feel the Illinoise, this album is currently driving me insane with its awesomeness. Reviewers always make musical comparisons when they talk about new music, and if I were to do that, my comparisons would be:

1. Stereolab (Sufjan employs choirs, trumpets, xylophones, and rounds, but not always)
2. Iron & Wine (the soft singing style is quite similar)
3. Devendra Banhart (funky name and long, long song titles; my favorite is "To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament, and it Involves an Inner Tube, Bath Mats, and 21 Able-Bodied Men")
4. The Postal Service/Death Cab for Cutie (that whole arty-but-poppy thing)

Illinoise is Sufjan's third album, and the second in a 50-album series about the 50 states. Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State was the first, and you can bet it's on my wish list.

Right now, I listen to Illinoise in two ways. The first is to just put it on as I'm doing other things, and during these times, I like the upbeat songs the best, songs like "Chicago" and "Casimir Pulaski Day." But when I really listen, I like the soft acoustic songs, which are somewhat -- no ... very -- creepy.

"John Wayne Gacy, Jr." is nightmarish tribute to one of the worst serial killers who ever lived. "He dressed up like a clown for them, with his face-paint white and red. And on his best behavior, in a dark room on a bed, he kissed them all." The most lurid verse is the last one: "And in my best behavior, I am really just like him. Look beneath the floorboards for the secrets I have hid."

My favorite song is "The Seer's Tower," a piece of American Gothic mythology that transforms the mundane into the phantasmigorical: "In a tower above the earth, there is a view that stretches far, where we see the universe, I see the fire, I see the end."

Another great song is "They are Night Zombies!! They are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!" which has the important historical figures of Illinois rising from their graves for fear of being forgotten: "We are awakened with the ax. Night of the Living Dead at last. They have begun to shake the dirt, wiping their shoulders from the earth." All the while, harmonizing women sing, "I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S." Could it get any better than this?

No. No, it couldn't. Buy this album. Now.
--------