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America (Sufjan Stevens song)

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"America"
Single by Sufjan Stevens
from the album The Ascension
B-side"My Rajneesh"
ReleasedJuly 3, 2020 (2020-07-03)
Genre
Length12:29
LabelAsthmatic Kitty
Songwriter(s)Sufjan Stevens
Producer(s)Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens singles chronology
""Love Yourself"/"With My Whole Heart""
(2019)
"America"
(2020)
"Video Game"
(2020)

"America" is a song by American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens. It was released as the lead single from the album The Ascension through Asthmatic Kitty on July 3, 2020.

Background and composition

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Stevens announced his upcoming eighth studio album, titled The Ascension, as well as its lead single, "America", on June 30, 2020.[1] In his announcement, Stevens declared "America" as a "protest song against the sickness of American culture in particular".[2] The song was first written in 2014 during the time that Stevens was working on his seventh studio album, Carrie & Lowell.[3] It has also been described as a "twelve-minute rumination on disillusionment, suffering, and loss of faith in [Stevens's] nation".[4]

Critical reception

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Awarding "America" four stars out of five, NME's El Hunt deemed it "weighty and substantial".[5] Sam Sodomsky of Pitchfork gave it the publication's Best New Track designation and took note of the song's "characteristically sprawling arsenal—its symphonic slow-build, its sea of recorders, its climactic, singalong chorus".[6] British GQ's Jonathan Dean praised the song's "intense and building lament that packs in claustrophobia and beauty" and its "end stretch twinkling ambiance".[7] In her review of The Ascension for NPR, Lindsay Zoladz called "America" "the best and most barbed song [Stevens has] released in the past five years".[8]

Release history

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Release dates and formats for "America"
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various July 3, 2020 Asthmatic Kitty [9]
July 31, 2020 12-inch vinyl [3]

References

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  1. ^ Aquillina, Tyler (June 30, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens announces new album coming in September, new single to drop Friday". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Legaspi, Althea; Reed, Ryan (July 3, 2020). "Hear Sufjan Stevens's Sprawling New Song 'America'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Manno, Lizzie (July 3, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens Shares Lead Single "America" From Forthcoming Album The Ascension". Paste. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  4. ^ Alter, Rebecca (July 3, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens's New Song 'America' Is Here: Listen". Vulture. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  5. ^ Hunt, El (July 3, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens' 12-minute epic comeback track 'America' is as complex as its namesake". NME. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  6. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (July 3, 2020). ""America" by Sufjan Stevens Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Dean, Jonathan (July 3, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens new song, 'America', is here to save 2020". British GQ. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  8. ^ Zoladz, Lindsay (September 24, 2020). "Sufjan Stevens' New Album 'The Ascension': Fifty States Of Grey". NPR. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  9. ^ "America – EP by Sufjan Stevens". Apple Music. Apple Inc. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
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