A Beginner's Mind
by Sufjan Stevens
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 40 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 40
  3. Negative: 2 out of 40
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  1. udaybhanu
    Sep 24, 2021
    9
    Sufjan Stevens' classical sense of indie poetry and mysterious composition blends well with the overall themes of exploration. His collaboration with De Augustine is something I look forward to for more music. Back to Oz is the track that stood out for me the most. Overall, not the best Sufjan work (I haven't heard more De Augustine to compare), but certainly a brilliant album.
  2. GunnarW
    Sep 26, 2021
    10
    I’m speechless. This might be the album of the year. I make The Irish Times’ words my own: “ This exceptional, empathic record reshapes that idea into a call to arms for the broken, and the devoured, so that a kind of purity might yet triumph over dissolution”.
  3. Austinjkieler
    Sep 26, 2021
    10
    Probably my new favorite Sufjan album. Very reminiscent of his earlier works, especially Illinois and Michigan. There's even some Seven Swans energy thrown in here and there. It's incredible.
  4. Panchogul
    Oct 1, 2021
    10
    Sufjan siempre entregando arte de calidad, ahora en colaboración de Angelo han sobrepasado todo límite, increíble es decir demasiado poco.
  5. yosrege
    Oct 30, 2021
    10
    amazing album by amazing people, so well done and this is what sasha velour meant by “art”
  6. hausoflilluis
    Oct 20, 2021
    8
    My heart is humming with happiness hearing this. I'm SO delighted with the duo. I admit I had a bad feeling; Aporia and I didn't get along last year, but my relationship with Sufjan is much better now. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the movies that were inspired to make such a great album!

    fav tracks: "Back To Oz", "Reach Out", "(This Is) The Thing", "It's Your Own Body and    My heart is humming with happiness hearing this. I'm SO delighted with the duo. I admit I had a bad feeling; Aporia and I didn't get along last year, but my relationship with Sufjan is much better now. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the movies that were inspired to make such a great album!

    fav tracks: "Back To Oz", "Reach Out", "(This Is) The Thing", "It's Your Own Body and Mind" & "Fictional California"
    KEY-TRACK: "Cimmerian Shade"    … Expand
  7. jayus-
    Nov 21, 2021
    9
    Beautiful and very catchy. Very accessible and easy to enjoy without repeated listens compared to Sufjan's more experimental projects
  8. leumassregor
    Nov 10, 2021
    9
    This album is emotional, beautiful, luscious, and soft. Though it starts off a bit sleepy with 'Reach Out' and 'Lady Macbeth in Chains', it picks up and brings you through this beautiful ride of layered strings and vocals. 'Olympus', 'Beginner's Mind', and 'The Pillar of Souls' were my favorite tracks on this project.
  9. jbwool100
    Oct 2, 2021
    10
    One of the best albums of the year! in this critic's viewpoint, highly original songs (based upon movie narratives), with provocative melodies and lushly produced chords abounding with surprise elements. Any critic's dream! Compositions are absolutely mesmerizing. I checked with the foremost psychics of India...and yes, this is the case. How awe-inspiring! However, I hear that certainOne of the best albums of the year! in this critic's viewpoint, highly original songs (based upon movie narratives), with provocative melodies and lushly produced chords abounding with surprise elements. Any critic's dream! Compositions are absolutely mesmerizing. I checked with the foremost psychics of India...and yes, this is the case. How awe-inspiring! However, I hear that certain published critics have been paid off, bribed, or talked to about retracting much higher numerical scores in print...........… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. PopMatters
    Oct 6, 2021
    70
    A worthy, if occasionally over-ripe, outing.
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  2. Sputnikmusic
    Oct 4, 2021
    80
    The result isn’t moving, per se, but it is at its best affecting and warm (Reach Out, The Pillar of Souls and Cimmerian Shade exemplify the record at its most beautiful, for my money). ... Interestingly, the duo save their best - and their most experimental - until the final two tracks.
    Read full review
  3. AllMusic
    Oct 4, 2021
    70
    A Beginner's Mind is intelligent and well-crafted, and will appeal to fans of either Stevens' or De Augustine's recent work, but it somehow feels less distinct than the music they create on their own.
    Read full review
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