One of the great struggles of humankind is the conflict of our need to be loved with our fundamental isolation from others as individuals… Is there a more universal human experience than seeking the love of another? Is there a more uniquely miserable feeling than losing it? Sufjan Stevens knows more than most about that latter feeling…

I’m going to start this hagiography reflection on the anniversary of In Utero, strangely, by discussing its predecessor. 32 years ago, Nirvana released the seminal grunge masterpiece Nevermind. It would be no exaggeration to suggest that this album totally shook the foundations of the rock music scene, almost single-handedly setting alternative rock on the trajectory that has made it one of the dominant forms of cultural expression over the last three decades…

What would a contemporary musician have to do in order to capture the expansiveness, intensity, thematic consistency and ambition of a classical symphony? I can’t say for certain, but on Illinois, Midwest singer-songwriter and king of the US indie scene Sufjan Stevens gives it a damn good go.