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Sufjan Steven's "Illinoise" feels like the musical equivalent of a historical mural. In fact, if you open the flap to the CD, the artwork (by Divya Srinivasan) extends to four additional panels depicting the Chicago World Fair, Abraham Lincoln, Native American tribes and many others. Stevens paints an excellent picture of Illinois, although it's not a historical reimagining of events like the play Hamilton. Rather, it takes key historical events, landmarks and figures and meshes them with less discussed events and personal stories. Steven’s already knew a thing or two about indie and folk music with experience from his last state-themed album “Michigan”. He perfects his music writing talents with tons of orchestra parts and even a backing choir, although isn’t afraid to play solo when appropriate.

There’s some pretentious indie crap like the inclusion of ridiculously long track names and random skits, but it’s done in pretty good taste and sometimes accentuates the feeling of the song. While many of the tracks with long titles names are full of excitement and grand orchestration, the tracks with short names can be serious or defining moments. For instance, the simply titled “Casimir Pulaski Day” kind of elicits a feeling of detachment about the holiday which contrasts with the album’s enthusiasm for other Illinois topics. The song discusses a friend passing away to cancer which happened to occur around Casimir Pulaski Day. It’s tracks like these that make “Illinoise” so special because it seamlessly blends the grand aspects of the state with the more obscure. “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” is another great example of this. It humanizes the victims and perpetrator of the "Pogo the clown" serial killings in Cook County, grappling with why the murders happened and how frighteningly similar the perpetrator can be to anyone.

But ultimately, "Illinoise" is about the appreciation of the state's history and legacy, even with its dark moments. It does not explicitly say what things are good or bad about Illinois. Instead, Illinois takes an aspect of the state (historical or personal) and looks at it with awe. Tracks like the “Come on! Feel the Illinoise!” celebrate the inventions and impact of the Chicago World Fair and “Concerning the UFO sighting” dreamily marvels at the myth and mystery of UFO sightings. Other topics include rural ghost towns, the underground railroad, Abraham Lincoln, and an iconic ChickenMobile to name a few. And lets not forget the track Chicago (what’s an album about Illinois without Chicago in it?). Arguably the centerpiece of the album, Chicago discusses Steven’s personal growth when traveling through Illinois. There’s so much to appreciate and learn from this album; it’s definitely one of the very best albums of the 2000's.