Illinoisis the second of Sufjan Stevens proposed 50 albums, each dedicated to an individual state. The first was 2003’s Michigan, a dissection of the musician’s birth state that examined poverty and family identity under the chilly shimmer of dulcimer and sleigh bells.

Lyrically, Illinois takes the same approach as its neighbor to the north, using the history of the place as an outline to examine the lives of its residents. However, the tone and instrumental variety of the two albums differ greatly. Michigan largely represented winter, while Illinois, ripe with booming horns and vibrant symphonic energy, feels like spring.

While most of the arrangements are spry and exceedingly bouncy, a more introspective Stevens lurks amongst the album’s quieter moments. Although the livelier songs are just as incisive, the mellower incarnation is more of a fiction writer than a lyricist. In this fashion, songs such as “Jacksonville” and “Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream” are miniature short stories in a stripped down style, similar to Raymond Carver. “Casmir Pulaski Day” portrays the loss of a love interest to cancer in such spare, choice language that each word is a stinging example of the narrator’s fresh grief. “John Wayne Gacy” tells the story of the infamous murderer and tries to understand how the capacities for such evil and the desire to do good could inhabit the same body.

The biggest argument against Illinois is that it’s too long (75 minutes), and its busyness is downright exhausting. Its sometimes cloying theatricality and constant horn flourishes could be trying for some.

Beyond this, Stevens has given to Illinois the same gift he gave to Michigan-a musical companion for life in the state-one that examines its intricacies and its history and tries its best to understand its people.

The Chronicle gives “Illinois” by Sufjan Stevens four 1/2 out of five stars.