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Junior Boys mesmerize, Big Freedia goes melodic and a Sufjan Stevens demo in this week's musical round-up

Sufjan Stevens: Chicago (Demo) More than a decade after the release of Illinois, an album that would embed the name Sufjan Stevens into the brains of indie music fans, the multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter has revealed an official demo version of “Chicago,” the LP’s most successful track. More than a throwback to a wildly popular song that came to represent the early 2000s for some, the demo …

Sufjan Stevens: Chicago (Demo)

More than a decade after the release of Illinois, an album that would embed the name Sufjan Stevens into the brains of indie music fans, the multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter has revealed an official demo version of “Chicago,” the LP’s most successful track. More than a throwback to a wildly popular song that came to represent the early 2000s for some, the demo offers insight into Stevens’ …

Junior Boys: Big Black Coat

Directed by Tim Saccenti, the just-released video for Junior Boys’ “Big Black Coat” is a little lo-fi, industrial and distorted, but entirely mesmerizing. Apparently born of the Canadian duo’s love of analog and experimental film art, the video complements the song’s blend of minimal, glitchy, synth-heavy pop and singer Jeremy Greenspan’s forlorn vocals.