After gaining traction with his earlier releases, Sufjan Stevens dropped Carrie & Lowell, a gut-wrenching and emotionally devastating album. Released on March 31, 2015. Sufjan uses his album as an autobiography. He shares his story and his struggles through his indie/alternative style. Carrie & Lowell is Sufjan’s seventh studio album released by Asthmatic Kitty, a studio created by Stevens and his stepfather, Lowell Brams. Consisting of 11 songs and running for about 45 minutes, Stevens delivers a tear-jerking performance that should be shared with the entire world through Carrie & Lowell.
Introduction
Getting his big break with his album “Illinois,” Stevens began writing and producing songs that reached his audience. His next biggest hit was the album Carrie & Lowell. Sufjan expresses the album as a way to get closure over his mother’s death in 2012. The album follows the themes of grief, depression, closure, nostalgia, and family. Accompanied by a melodic guitar, Stevens’s soft vocals help carry the sad elements of this album. The alternative/indie-folk feel of the music completes this soul-crushing album.
Production
Mainly produced by Sufjan Stevens himself, Carrie & Lowell takes major indie and alternative elements to enhance the perception of the music. In every song, we are introduced to a guitar and piano melody, which was one of the best choices Stevens could have made. The songs feel simple and not overcrowded due to only a few elements that match his soft vocals. In some songs, we hear a light drum portion or ukulele that comes with a synthesizer to add more texture to the tracks. These elements create a psychedelic aura that deepens Sufjan’s sad and depressed tone, based on the contributions of depressing melodies and beats.
Vocal Performance
Stevens’ vocals give the tracks a unique calming tone that matches the soft instrumentals. Throughout the album, Stevens gives us a hush, yet powerful voice that translates his feelings into music. Rigorously driving his tone to the audience, he helps to enlighten the music behind it. On almost all the songs, Stevens doubles his voice or sings the same part twice in different tones. This adds to the reverb and deepens the sad, depressing feel of the music by adding more ways to make his emotions come out. In “Blue Bucket of Gold”, he shows us his lower range which adds a melodramatic undertone to the already heart-stopping songs. Stevens blends his voice with the despairing music creating a sorrowful atmosphere around his lyrics, allowing his mellow voice to fit perfectly with the songs.
Meaning
Carrie & Lowell is an autobiography that encompasses Stevens’ challenging childhood. He reflects on his past relationship with his deceased mother and deals with his acceptance and grief over her death. Through the album, Stevens finds closure and is able to look at his mother in good light. He tells us of the vacancy his mother had left when she first left him as a child, but now that she has passed away, he feels empty. In the song “Death with Dignity”, Stevens tells the audience of his struggles with acceptance over his mother’s death, leaving him to feel lonely and empty without her, even though she was often never there.
He eventually finds the strength needed to forgive her and accept that she is gone. On a different track, “Should Have Known Better”, the audience hears Sufjan’s guilt of being abandoned by the one person who was supposed to love him unconditionally. He sings of the hardships between them and how it affected him as a person today. The album alone is tear-jerking, but the meaning behind it only adds to the emotion of the album.
Conclusion
Sufjan Stevens wrote his whole heart and soul into Carrie & Lowell and gave us his story. Through showcases of his themes of depression, grief, and nostalgia, Stevens gives us a heart-stopping album. The instruments helped enlighten his soft-spoken vocals and enhanced the vibe of the music. Stevens did an incredible job writing and producing this album, leaving Carrie & Lowell as one of my personal favorite albums.
Song Rankings:
- “The Fourth of July”
- “Blue Bucket of Gold”
- “Carrie & Lowell”
- “Drawn to the Blood”
- “Death with Dignity”
- “John My Beloved”
- “The Only Thing”
- “All of Me Wants All of You”
- “No Shade in the Shadow of The Cross”
- “Should Have Known Better”
- “Eugene”
Strongest Track ~ This album is perfectly gorgeous, but one song shines the most in my eyes: “The Fourth of July”. The song draws out every emotion that one can represent. Sufjan reflects on his mother’s death and how she was absent, yet present in his life. She struggled with her own problems that projected onto him and eventually, he learns to move past them and see the good in his mother, all the while a guitar, paired with a piano, drives the track to its end. “The Fourth of July” is a perfect representation of Sufjan Stevens’ music and is one of his best songs to this day.
Final Notes
Song rankings are always subject to change over time, so don’t take these too to heart. They also are just our opinion. We would love to hear your opinions, so leave them in the comment section below. We also suggest subscribing to our blog. To do so, go under the tab “Contact” and fill out the form. That will allow you to receive emails of new blogs and maybe get them ahead of time. Finally, go give Carrie & Lowell a listen for yourself.