Direct and to the point or hidden message jamboree? Time will tell.
Sufjan Stevens releases his new single/video, “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?,” from his highly anticipated forthcoming album, Javelin, out October 6th on Asthmatic Kitty Records. Javelinbridges all of Stevens’ approaches like never before, and “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” synthesizes the acoustic intimacy of his early work with the orchestral and electronic grandeur of his most recent. Following lead single “So You Are Tired,” named Best New Track by Pitchforkfor its “effortless elegance,” “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” offers another heart shattering glimpse at Javelin’s vulnerable contours. Beginning with just finger-plucked strings and Stevens’ inimitable voice, “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” reaches one of the most cathartic heights of his diverse discography: “Will anybody ever love me?/For good reasons/Without grievance, not for sport/Will anybody ever love me?/In every season/Pledge allegiance to my heart/Pledge allegiance to my burning heart.”
On the self-produced “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?,” Stevens plays every instrument with additional vocals from adrienne maree brown, Hannah Cohen, and Megan Lui. Comments from each on working with Stevens are below, along with additional thoughts from the “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” video director and longtime Stevens collaborator, Stephen Halker.
“The first time I sang the song I started crying, I was so moved by the honesty of the questions. Sufjan is an impossibly brave and gifted writer.”
– adrienne maree brown
“Being in the studio with Sufjan is like watching an alchemist at work. He creates a new realm, building our voices from a gentle choir, then morphing us into sirens raging from the sea.”
– Hannah Cohen
“‘Will Anybody Ever Love Me?’ felt like a glimpse into Sufjan’s past records but spins into an epic collage of voices and instruments. His vision of melody and composition are astonishing and working with him and Hannah in the room was pure joy.”
– Megan Lui
“This piece serves as an exploration into the intricate landscapes of the human psyche, akin to an open invitation to wander through the vast emotional domains of the mind. It illustrates the journey from surface-level facades to the profound yearnings, vulnerabilities, and fixations that reside within the human heart.
I was playing with this concept by putting these two dimensional collaged icons into three dimensional spaces that slowly become less and less tethered to the real world. We can never truly know each other, we all just live with our own somewhat flattened interpretations of those around us. The less we are deeply known, the less we can be deeply loved.
Will anybody ever love me? I don’t know.”
– Stephen Halker
