After the success received last year with “Illinois” (acclaimed by a lot of music critics as the “Best Album of 2005″), folk singer Sufjan Stevens comes back with the release of the second part of “Illinois”, which was initially intended to be a double disc, but then was cut into one single disc. “The Avalanche” had to be the main song of that album (the second of a series of album dedicated to the United States), but it is now the first track on this compilation, made of outtakes, extras and various versions of “Illinois” songs. The album, made of 21 unreleased songs for more than 70 minutes of music, features various tunes that deal with different themes: from the electronic “Dear Mr. Supercomputer” to the danceable pop of “The Henney Buggy Band”, to the three new versions of “Chicago”. You can hear the “acoustic version”, which is the best one according to me, the “adult contemporary easy listening version” and the totally crazy “Multiple Personality Disorder version”, which is awesome and eclectic. “The Avalanche” is the perfect album to finish enjoying the previous Stevens’ release “Illinois”, and if you discovered that album not too long ago, I will guarantee that it is going to be a wild experience to hear both records in a row.