America (Sufjan Stevens song)

"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.

"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)

Background and composition

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

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
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
  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. 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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