| "America" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Sufjan Stevens | ||||
| from the album The Ascension | ||||
| B-side | "My Rajneesh" | |||
| Released | July 3, 2020 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 12:29 | |||
| Label | Asthmatic Kitty | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Sufjan Stevens | |||
| Producer(s) | Sufjan Stevens | |||
| Sufjan Stevens singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"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.
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]
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]
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | July 3, 2020 | Asthmatic Kitty | [9] | |
| July 31, 2020 | 12-inch vinyl | [3] |
Sufjan Stevens is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nominations.
Illinois is a 2005 concept album by American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens. His fifth studio album, it features songs referencing places, events, and persons related to the U.S. state of Illinois. Illinois is Stevens' second based on a U.S. state—part of a planned series of fifty that began with the 2003 album Michigan and that Stevens has since acknowledged was a joke.
The National is an American rock band of Cincinnati, Ohio natives, formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1999. The band consists of Matt Berninger (vocals), twin brothers Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner, as well as brothers Scott Devendorf (bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). Carin Besser, the wife of Matt Berninger, is not a band member but has written lyrics for the band alongside her husband since its 2007 album Boxer.
Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation.
The Age of Adz is the sixth studio album by American singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens, released on October 12, 2010 by Asthmatic Kitty. It was Stevens' first song-based full-length album in five years, since the release of Illinois in 2005.
American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens has released twelve studio albums, thirteen extended plays (EP), fifteen singles, eight promotional singles, and eight music videos. Through his record label Asthmatic Kitty Records, Stevens released his first two albums A Sun Came and Enjoy Your Rabbit in 2000 and 2001, respectively. For his next two releases – Michigan (2003) and Seven Swans (2004) – the singer partnered with Sounds Familyre Records for the distribution of both releases. Seven Swans was supported by Stevens' debut single "The Dress Looks Nice on You". The same album was reissued in 2009 and included the new single "I Went Dancing with My Sister". His fifth album, Illinois, was his first release to enter record charts, where it reached the lower positions in several countries and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of 500,000 copies. The Avalanche, a compilation album consisting of outtakes from Illinois, was released in 2006 and also reached various charts internationally.
Carrie & Lowell is the seventh studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens. It was released on March 31, 2015, by Asthmatic Kitty. It is executively produced by Stevens, and features guest contributions from Thomas Bartlett, Sean Carey, Casey Foubert, Ben Lester, Nedelle Torrisi, and Laura Veirs.
Christopher Joseph Gallant III, better known as Gallant, is an American singer and songwriter from Columbia, Maryland, signed to Mind of a Genius Records and Warner Bros. Records. He first began to gain recognition after self-releasing his debut EP, Zebra in 2014. His debut studio album, Ology, was released worldwide in April 2016 to critical acclaim, earning him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album.
Phoebe Lucille Bridgers is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Her indie folk music typically centres around acoustic guitar and electronic production, with melancholic lyrical themes. She has received four Grammy Award nominations, including Best New Artist.
Big Thief is an American indie rock band with folk roots based in Brooklyn, New York. Its members are Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, Max Oleartchik (bass), and James Krivchenia (drums).
Snail Mail is the American indie rock solo project of guitarist and singer-songwriter Lindsey Jordan. Originally from Ellicott City, Maryland, Jordan first performed as Snail Mail live in 2015 at the age of 15, and attracted attention with the EP Habit in 2016. After signing with Matador Records, Snail Mail released her debut studio album, Lush (2018), to critical acclaim. In 2021, Snail Mail followed up with her second album, Valentine, to further critical recognition.
Aporia is an album by American musician Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather, Lowell Brams. It was released through Asthmatic Kitty on March 24, 2020 with a live preview held on YouTube on March 23, 2020.
Punisher is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, released on June 18, 2020 by Dead Oceans. Bridgers first established herself with her 2017 debut, Stranger in the Alps, a widely acclaimed indie rock effort. In the years preceding her second album, the California native formed the bands boygenius and Better Oblivion Community Center. On Punisher, Bridgers' songwriting is somber and sardonic; deeply personal in nature, it explores topics like dissociation and fragmenting relationships.
The Ascension is the eighth studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens. It was released through Asthmatic Kitty on September 25, 2020. The record was influenced by a range of artists, particularly Ariana Grande and her 2019 song "Thank U, Next".
"Garden Song" is a song by American singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers. It was released through Dead Oceans on February 26, 2020, as the lead single from Bridgers' second studio album, Punisher (2020).
"Video Game" is a song written, recorded, and produced by American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens for his eighth studio album, The Ascension (2020). It was released as the album's second single on August 13, 2020, through Stevens' Asthmatic Kitty label. It has been called a synth-pop song with lyrics that describe the effects of social media upon society. A music video for the track was released alongside the single.
Ignorance is the fifth studio album by Canadian band the Weather Station. It was released worldwide on February 5, 2021 through Fat Possum Records in the United States, and a small part through Next Door Records in Canada. The album's lead single "Robber" was released on October 14, 2020.
Convocations is the ninth studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens, released through Asthmatic Kitty on May 6, 2021. Recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic following the death of Stevens' father, the album was released in five volumes, with a combined total of 49 instrumental songs.
Humble Quest is the third major label studio album by American country singer and songwriter Maren Morris. The album was released on March 25, 2022, through Columbia Nashville. The album earned three nominations at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, including for Best Country Album, while the lead single "Circles Around This Town" was nominated for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance.
"Part of the Band" is a song by English band the 1975. It was released on 7 July 2022 through Dirty Hit as the lead single of their fifth album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language. Reviewers identified the song as breaking new ground for the band, containing aspects of different pop, folk and rock genres. String instruments play throughout the acoustic song, with additional incorporation of woodwind and jazz instruments. The lyrics, in a stream of consciousness style, explore Healy's relationships and himself without a chorus.