Sufjan Stevens is so adept at quietly expansive chamber-folk that it’s a solace when he returns to this mode. “So You Are Tired,” the first single from Stevens’ upcoming Javelin—billed as his first true singer-songwriter album since 2015’s Carrie & Lowell—is close to the platonic ideal of a delicate Sufjan ballad, like 2004’s “To Be Alone With You” or 2017’s “Mystery of Love.” Written, arranged, produced, and performed almost entirely by himself, it’s a breakup song that sounds like a lullaby. In his breathy library whisper, Stevens rearranges his words so subtly that they feel foreordained: “A man born invisible” becomes “a man indivisible” becomes “the man still in love with you/When I already knew it was done.” Piano, guitars, strings, and guests’ backing vocals pile up as patiently as the somber narrative, coming together with such effortless elegance that someone in the next room might think you’re just listening to a pretty movie soundtrack. But it’s more than that—a hard-won epiphany, a hushed examination of the human spirit that puts other singer-songwriters to shame.
