This afternoon’s post is more of a mish-mash of stuff that hasn’t affected me enough to make me write a whole bunch about them.  I’d try to make something clever out of it – something in the vein of Tsururadio’s Tsuruloosies – but I’m not feeling particularly creative this afternoon either.  Despite the fact that it was only four days, this workweek has been particularly long.

So, here is a quartet of songs.  I’ll give you all minimal background and opinion; you make your own judgment calls:

Sufjan Stevens – Too Much (mp3) from the forthcoming The Age of Adz

Not a Dave Matthews cover, but the second track to see the light of day from Sufjan’s forthcoming album.  Some, like Hipster Runoff and We Listen For You, are less than thrilled.  I’m ambiguous at best.  The Age of Adz is due out on October 12 via Asthmatic Kitty.  You can pre-order it now in various formats.

Summer Camp – Veronica Sawyer (mp3) from Young EP

Brooding, nostalgia pop from Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey, named after Winona Ryder’s character in Heathers.  Reminds me of an updated Suzanne Vega after a couple of listens.  Their Young EP is out now via Moshi Moshi.

Miami Horror – I Look To You (feat. Kimbra) (mp3) from Illumination

What summer ending sounds like.  If this had gotten to me a bit earlier in the summer, I would probably have been more excited about it.  Now it just serves to make me sad.  The Australian electro-pop group’s most recent effort – Illumination – is out now.

The Tallest Man On Earth – Like the Wheel (mp3) from Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird EP

This feels like something I should like, but I just can’t get into it.

I have never considered myself a fan of Sufjan Stevens.  Like most people who have heard it, I like his seminal “Chicago” – a lot.  (So much, in fact, that I included it as a part of my 1000 Minutes.)  But the rest of his catalog has never been particularly intriguing to me.  He can seem preachy or just downright strange at times, which can be off-putting.

And then this past Friday, he released a new EP out of the blue.  I haven’t heard of anyone who expected it, it got him trending on Twitter, and has sent the blogs world alight with buzz.  I was away this past weekend, so I didn’t get the EP until I got home yesterday, expecting to listen a couple of times and not be particularly impressed.  And, in one of the few times I’m not ashamed to say it: I was wrong.

The new EP – entitled All Delighted People – is more of an album than an EP, clocking in at nearly 60 minutes.  Two of the eight songs on the EP stretch over the 11-minute mark – one at over 17 minutes – and there are two versions of the same song, which is probably why it feels more like an EP than a fully realized album.  But it’s an EP that unfolds gradually; while it doesn’t take long to recognize the beauty contained therein, it becomes much more rewarding as it’s repeated.

There are plenty of tracks that standout; in fact, there isn’t really a single misstep.  Even the two versions of the title track are both excellent in their own ways.  But the real winners here are the gorgeous and soaring “From the Mouth of Gabriel” and the sprawling, marathon of the 17-minute “Djohariah.”

If you haven’t yet, make certain to get the EP over at Sufjan’s Bandcamp page.  It’s the best $5 I’ve spent on music so far in 2010, and it’s one of the best surprises I’ve had to this point in the year.  We don’t have a rating system in place here at Tympanogram, but if I worked for Pitchfork, I’d give All Delighted People a rating as “Best New Music” and a solid 9.3.

Sufjan Stevens – From the Mouth of Gabriel (mp3) from All Delighted People EP