You may know of the musical output of Sufjan Stevens, Son Lux, and Serengeti as s/s/s (they released the Beak & Claw EP back in 2012), but now the trio of musicians have re-branded themselves as Sisyphus. Not only is their band name more Google-friendly, but as Sufjan explains in a new interview, “s/s/s started to sound like the Nazi Schutzstaffel with a lisp so we had to change it.” With the name change also comes a new self-titled album, which they’ll release March 18th on Sufjan’s Asthmatic Kitty label and also on Joyful Noise Recordings. The album – originally intended to be just an EP – was commissioned by the Walker Art Center and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music series in Minneapolis/St. Paul. “There was a wellspring so we ended up with a full length,” Sufjan explains in the above mentioned interview. He goes on to say:
“Ryan just finished his record and I’m working on a ballet, so we had mad ideas. The first EP was the Bastard Stepchild of Myspace and Pets.com. We did it all remotely. For this one, we decided to make everything together in the same room. And it was a very small room. Things got messy.”
It accompanies an exhibition of the work of visual artist Jim Hodges, opening at the Walker on February 14, running through May 11. Fifty limited edition album copies will be available for purchase from the Walker Art Center on February 15th, preceding the album’s full release in March. Check out the album tracklisting below, which features the “Take Me,” a track Sufjan teased a demo of on his Soundcloud a while back. Also, check out the lyric video to “Calm It Down.”
Sisyphus – Sisyphus
01 Calm It Down
02 Take Me
03 Booty Call
04 Rhythm of Devotion
05 Flying Ace
06 My Oh My
07 I Won’t Be Afraid
08 Lion’s Share
09 Dishes in the Sink
10 Hardly Hanging On
11 Alcohol
