It was only this past summer that we found singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens hinting at the fact the he might retire from music. He had abandoned his 50 states project, in which he would release an album inspired by each of the 50 of the United States, less than a year ago. The outlook was bleak and Stevens was apparently packing his bags, ready to ride off into the sunset.

In a fickle turn of events, less than a week after questioning the point of releasing albums in a series of interviews, Stevens announced that he would be releasing a new album, The Age of Adz, on Oct. 12.

Having five soft-sung and folk tinged studio albums under his belt, Stevens’ releases had almost become too predictable. With The Age of Adz, Stevens has thrown a stick into the spokes of comfort.

To say that Stevens takes The Age of Adz in a differently direction would be putting it lightly.

Stevens’ signature acoustic guitar and banjo playing is sparsely featured on the album. Conventional instrumentation has been tossed aside and the sounds of the digital age have made themselves at home.

Crooning over a tornado of synths and sequencers, Stevens’ voice is the only familiar element from his prior work.

The collection of songs is as sinister as it is jubilant. While one track may sound like Radiohead’s re-imagining of the soundtrack for The Wizard of Oz, the next may sound like The Flaming Lips performing for Satan.

While long-time fans may feel alienated by Age of Adz, the album represents a step towards a new direction for Stevens, and a well placed step at that.