Carrie & Lowell

Still have a soft spot of Michigan (and Illinoise) but this is probably the pinnacle of Sufjan's whole deal, so I'm glad someone submitted this. I hope he's doing better. He had a rough 2023.

Love this album, and especially the track "No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross". Sufjan's dreamy vocalizations over his sublime melodic rhythms, I could weep.

This album is my submission. I chose it because Sufjan Stevens has been incredibly influential within the indie scene to the point where his influence can be heard almost everywhere. His music spans folk, electronic, and rock and incorporates elements of theatre and conceptual storytelling. Carrie & Lowell came in the wake of a maximalist electronic album and stands in contrast as a minimalist folk record that still pulses almost imperceptibly with electronic beats. This record came out a decade after ‘Illinois’ and is a testament to Stevens’ ever evolving body of work and the consistency of the quality of that work. The Thematically, it explores the death of his mother and the complicated feelings left in the wake of the death of someone who essentially abandoned him as a child. Here we see some of Stevens’ best and most heartbreaking lyrics. As a trained writer, he expertly explores the winding path of grief marked by memory, self-destruction, and ultimately yearning for a relationship that never was. His use of religious metaphor in particular is resonant.

While I like Illinoise a bit more, I think this entry is a fantastic choice as well, with a tight and atmosphere set of tracks.

Very poetic and calming music

I like Sufjan overall, but only in small doses. 3 stars.

Own this one on vinyl. Could very well be one of my all-time favorites.

I love 'Illinois' from the main list. This is excellent too. A lot more sparse and mellow than 'Illinois', with intensely personal (rather than fantastical) themes, this tells raw and specific stories of Stevens' complex relationship with his mother, who Stevens saw only intermittently through her life. It's focus is his grief at her death, and the self-destructive behaviours (mirroring his mother's) that Stevens' grief inspired. Not an easy or comfortable listen, the record takes several listens to reveal its dark beauty. It hits peak sadness on 'Fourth of July', which closes Side 1 and recites a deathbed conversation between Stevens and his mother, tenderly revealing unconditional love and forgiveness. The way the album describes thoughts, ideas, emotions, and events without directly speaking of them is a work of poetic genius and elevates Stevens' songwriting. Rating: 4.5 Playlist track: Should Have Known Better Date listened: 29/07/24

I started this album in my car without any knowledge of what it was about and was blindsided. This has been a year of upheaval and loss for me and my family and immediately "Death and Dignity" hit me hard and had me a blubbering mess after 30 seconds. This is one of those times I marvel at how an artist can share something so deeply personal and painful with strangers through a work like this. Someone I have never known has reached out to share his deeply personal experience to help me move forward a little bit as I grapple with my own grief. Such a testament to the power of a great artist.

Two and a half minutes in and it's a 5... 43 minutes and 35 seconds in and it's still a 5. Just brilliant.

Super relaxing and serene. Enjoyed it.

Sufjan's voice admits no good material analogy; Carrie & Lowell, though, reflects the age-delicacy of its subject matter. Deeply contemporary as it's deeply Christian, the album is a personal hymnal that demands a kind of community. Its earworms are themes as well as tunes.

It's like trance music, for an astral trip ha ha. It's not for me.

I don't care how high concept this guy's stuff is. It's just SO BORING. Completely wishy-washy crap. Made 45min feel like 3 hours. At least Soundgarden had a song called Fourth of July that actually ruled. 1/5.

Ugh. It was bad and very whiny. I suffered through it.

I honestly don't know how people can listen to this whiney sort of shite!

Stevens may not be for everyone but he sure is for me. This is lovely and poignant. A new favorite.

A very gentle sound...maybe almost too soft and sad at times...

Lovely and sad, a very welcome addition to the wonderful Illinois album.

Huge Sufjan Stevens fan going way back and no complaints with this offering. Very understated but of course that suits the material.

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Death with dignity, Should have known better, Eugene, Fourth of July

Musically spare but elegant, with a contemplation of memory, mortality and grief that's almost too hard to take as a listener. This is really beautiful, thanks for sharing it. Fave Songs: Death with Dignity, Should Have Known Better, Eugene, No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross, The Only Thing, Fourth of July

I listened to this quite a bit in 2015 when it came out, I remember it being among my favorite albums that year. Since then however, I'm not sure if I've revisited it even once. This is an unfortunate result of so much music being available on demand, it's overwhelming and even the best stuff can get lost in the cracks. Anyway, this is a beautiful and terribly sad album and while I'm not a Sufjan Stevens expert or a completist, I think this is him at his best.

Sufjan is an excellent song writer and musician. The range among his albums is pretty wide and varying to the point where it’s easy for people to have different favorites. Carrie and Lowell is a great album and the category is a bit more sad and darker than what most music is about. Sufjan uses his soft style of singing to really make the album shine. Overall it’s a great album and Sufjan music is impressive. 7.9/10

Just as worthy of being on this list as illinoise imo. Great songwriting Great singing and a great time to listen to it in mid October. Death with dignity was my fav.

I really loved Illinoise, Seven Swans and Michigan back in the day but somehow I've gotten really tired of his waif-like whisper vocals. Despite all the rave reviews, I think that this album was just ok.

An even better choice of Sufjan album for the list than the officially selected "Illinois."

Gentle modern folk from Sufjan rather than his eclectic gentle pop. Sweet sounding.

It's fine, but it's just the same song over and over again.

liked this when it started, however every song is very similar so a bit tired by song 3. Still ethereal and good in smaller doses, best song: Drawn in the blood. 3.1

Whats the point of singing songs, if theyll never even hear you 2 Ok you need headphones and anc for this one 3

A softer side of Sufjan compared to the epic ‘Illinoise,’ this LP has some serious chops in the instrumental department with a great mixture of guitar and some low-level synths. I think your mileage on this one depends on how you feel about Sufjan’s vocals (which take up center stage throughout) and more singer-songwriter leaning tracks.

Good

This is exactly what I expect from Stevens, but it's not nearly as good as Illinois (for me, personally). I can appreciate the deeply cathartic experience Stevens had in creating this album, and his grief does yield beautiful music. I think because of the subject matter, it's an album that doesn't have a lot of re-listen appeal to me. I'm a lyrics first listener, so... I just can't spend all day with someone else's grief when I'm busy with my own. Especially when I'm mourning a parent who was profoundly present in my life and whom I only have happy memories of. Like Nick Cave's grief music, this here is a truly beautiful work of art, but it's inaccessible to me in a way that prevents repeated enjoyment.

Lovely album for a relaxing evening.

I found this remarkably boring.

Indie folk, lo-fi. Muy rollo. Un 2.

I like it better than the album included in the book but Sufjan still doesn't really do a whole lot for me.