Our Deepest Glimpse into Sufjan Stevens Yet- Carrie & Lowell

Over the past two decades, Sufjan Stevens has gained success and praise from releasing records that both deny the demands of the mainstream music culture while retaining a distinctive brilliance that you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else.

My first experience listening to Stevens was back in 2006, during a time when my mom was really sick. When me and my dad would visit her in the hospital, we would always listen to Illinoise during the car rides there and back. It was a very sad time for all of us, but Illinoise, filled with a plethora of songs that continue to inspire me today, both cheered me up and helped me understand that it was alright to be sad, and that sometimes it's good to acknowledge and express that sadness if you want to get past it.

I started listening to Carrie & Lowell with high expectations and, as expected with every other album that I've listened to by Stevens, it had its own distinctive sound and layout. Where Michigan is strong in its instrumental complexities and Illinoise dense in its twenty two track length, Carrie & Lowell is incredibly potent and straight to the point in its forty-two minute duration.

But this is not to say that the album is too short or lacks any depth. Instead I wanted to make note that I've always had a habit of analyzing songs first on their instrumental arrangements before their vocal layers. So keeping this in mind, I was in disbelief when I found myself first listening to every single word that Sufjan whispered in a soft, and at many points, pained voice before the string sections.

This brings me to the songs that stuck out to me the most: Fourth of July and John My Beloved. These songs are my favorites on the record, but I do not mean to say that the rest of the album is not as good; these two tracks are simply diamonds in a goldmine.

Fourth of July is the deepest representation of the sadness that Stevens expresses on the record. If ever you have lost a loved one, then this song is likely to hit you the hardest. The song, to me, was a conversation between Stevens and his mother. Some lines such as "Now where am I? My fading supply" are answered with others such as "Did you get enough love, my little Dove? Why do you cry? And I'm sorry I left, but it was for the best, though it never felt right" and "Make the most of your life while it is rife, while it is light." Hearing these powerful words, which hint at past conflicts between Stevens and his mother as well as describing the challenge he faced in accepting her death, brought tears to my eyes before I even knew what they were for, during my first listen.

Concluding with the repeated line "We're all gonna die", Fourth of July felt like the goodbye that we all have to accept or give one day, the acknowledgement of the impermanence of life and its fragility. The piano accompaniment on the song gives the tune an eerie and haunting atmosphere, one that will stay with you throughout your day. You're completely immersed in a sadness that most of us would prefer to run from if we were facing it in our own lives.

John My Beloved accomplishes much of what Fourth of July does in that it reflects more on Stevens' mental conflict of leaving a loved one behind. But this time it seems that it is he who is going to die, not the other way around. He begs for closure with lines like "So can we contend peacefully before my history ends?" The honesty that the lyrics express (as with every other song on the album) will continue to humble you after every listen. Despite the subjects that give the entire album its strong foundation, Sufjan's lyrical sincerity paired with the instrumentation on John My Beloved somehow give off a hopeful feeling of perseverence. By admitting that you are at a low, and confronting your conflict, you can only push forward from there.

I can go on forever analyzing each track off of the album, but I'll try to be concise for the rest of this review. After a few more listens I was able to accept and truly enjoy the instrumental minimalism that contribute to the album's intensity. The album itself maintains a fairly quiet tone throughout its entire duration, but this in no way is a bad thing.

Many of the songs on the record conclude with instrumental interludes and absolutely no time is wasted in these sections. They not only provide deeper and clearer identities for the songs they are found in, but they also allow you more time to digest the song you just heard before the album progresses to the next one.

A prime example of this is the first track, titled Death with Dignity. Its final forty seconds incorporate a lap steel guitar paired with multiple harmonized vocal layers. Following the seemingly cheerful tone of the first three minutes, these last moments provide a magisterial beauty and warmth that I can only describe by comparing it to hearing the voice of a loved one waking you from a nightmare in the morning.

While it's true that Carrie & Lowell is a very sad record, the sadness that you will feel during and after listening to it is a sadness that is beautiful and healthy to acknowledge, though you may not like to immediately admit it.

In conclusion, Carrie & Lowell is much more than simply a collection of songs Stevens dedicated to his mother and stepfather. They are entire moments of his life; moments that we are sucked into willingly or not. Sufjan has placed on this record one of the most intimate parts of his soul, something that takes so much courage and strength. I only have thanks for him in allowing all of his listeners the chance to see so deeply into him.

I give Carrie & Lowell 5 out of 5 stars.

All albums and songs mentioned have been linked to Youtube (for songs) and Amazon (for albums) for either listening or purchasing.