Loyal listeners are aware that Steven is currently wiping the floor with Ian in their Fantasy Fall Albums draft. But Ian has a shot this week to make up some ground with the release of Javelin, the new critically acclaimed album by Sufjan Stevens. While Steven respects Sufjan’s talent and stature in the indie world, he’s never quite warmed up to the singer-songwriter, due to his undeniable “theater kid/youth pastor” vibes. Ian meanwhile is a big fan and considered Javelin a return to form. Hear the guys hash it out over one of indie’s most beloved legacy acts.
From there the conversation shifts to Steven’s recent trip to Las Vegas to see U2 play at the new state-of-the-art venue Sphere. We have all seen video clips of this thing by now, but what was it like to be there in person? And what other acts can possibly play this thing? Changing gears dramatically, the guys get down to talking about the amazing popularity of Duster, the ’90s-era slowcore band that was mostly ignored in their time and now ranks as one of the most streamed bands of the era. What’s it like to see your own musical past re-written by future generations?
In Recommendation Corner, Ian talk about the emo revival band Bewilder while Steven recommends the emerging Minneapolis alt-rock outfit Prize Horse.
New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 158 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at indiecastmailbag@gmail.com, and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.