Sufjan has made us all wait too long for new material that isn't a movie about hula-hoopers... Yes, I watched the BQE.  This isn't that.  Not that his film was bad, it just didn't showcase his ability to write songs.  

There is no question with this EP that Sufjan is still fully capable of writing structured pop songs.  The tunes on this short disc are sprawling and expansive, complex, layered without being overwhelming.  Sufjan can write catchy melodic turns in his sleep, and with this experiment he pushes himself.

The EP is built around the nearly-twelve minute opener "All Delighted People", a multi-faceted cacophony that balances beauty with something stranger.  Sufjan has always been interesting in electronic experimentation, but it is has never mingled so freely with his folk songwriting tendencies as it does here.  

Sufjan is really doing amazing things all over the place on this EP.  It's good to see anything from him, but it's wonderful to hear him do what he's best at doing.  Ch-ch-check it.  Sufjan's back.