If you were to condense all the songs written by the human race into a handful of broad categories, you would end up with at least two in which every culture and time can identify with: love and death. From there, if you were to make a list of modern albums that deal exclusively with either subject, both lists would be rather lengthy (and full of classic rock and death metal). Make a list of albums that blend them together and you’ll get a list with a handful of albums on it. Present in this rare and exclusive list is Sufjan Stevens and his masterpiece of an audio autobiography Carrie & Lowell, and while others have blended love, death, and loss together before, its safe to say nobody has done it quite like the way Stevens has done – as is the norm for many of Stevens projects.
Carrie & Lowell shares the name of Steven’s mother, a woman who battled various addictions and other medical problems from the day Stevens was born. Growing up without a mother consistently present in his life, with some of his earliest memories being of “when I was three, three maybe four, she left us at that video store” from the track “Should Have Known Better”, made a massive impact on Stevens life, and her death in late 2012 violently shook the artist. Stevens remarks in a recent (and outstanding) interview with Pitchfork.com, “It was so terrifying to encounter death and have to reconcile that, and express love, for someone so unfamiliar. Her death was so devastating to me because of the vacancy within me.” The terror, emptiness, and unrequited love for his mother As such, C&L does not make for easy listening, nor for background music. From the open acoustic fingerpicking of “Death with Dignity” to the fading delay-saturated guitar notes of “Blue Bucket of Gold”, Stevens takes you on an emotional roller coaster that, thanks to stellar songwriting and musicianship, is one you won’t forget about any time soon.
Stevens made clear from the onset that this album would return to his indie folk singer songwriter roots, and he makes good on that promise and throws in some surprises as well. Recorded mostly in his studio apartment, C&L bears all the marks of minimalism done right, from the simple beat of “John, My Beloved”, the Coldplay-esq electric climax of “The Only Thing”, the tribal folk-rock rhythm of the title track, and every other song on the album. In some instances its impossible for Stevens to get more musically stripped down and there be any instruments left to play, a stark contrast to the zany electronic what-the-crapness of Age of Adz. The lack of grandeur and musical diversity does nothing to detract from the passion of Stevens, and if anything his decision to stick to a minimalistic sound reflects the bleak emptiness of his heart resulting from his mom’s death. And let’s not even get started on the lyrics – if C&L’s sounds are worthy of your attention, the lyrics Stevens penned in accompaniment demand a response. The questions and statements Stevens raises in light of his mother’s death are questions we must all wrestle with and answer at one point in time or another, and the lyrical intimacy of C&L brings you into the struggle of a man to reconcile the most passionate and diverse emotions one can experience through the loss of a loved one.
Through tragedy, loss, and grief comes an album that is equally tragic and full of loss and grief, but not at the expense of immense and rich beauty. Carrie & Lowell will be a contender for Album of the Year on not just this website, but on many other music sites as well. To call Carrie & Lowell anything less than a work of art is to miss out on the wealth of beauty and creativity Stevens has afforded us, and giving this masterpiece anything less than a perfect grade is just not possible.
A bit of disclosure: I’ve never listened to Purity Ring before today. Most accurately, I may have heard a single at some point, but I’ve never had the thought, “I should listen to Purity Ring today.” Further, the band’s sound isn’t much like the majority of what I listen to. However, I’ve seen the band’s name floating around enough in the last few weeks (including a recent discovery of the single “push pull” as a free track on the Google Play store) that I’m willing to branch out. After all, 4AD has given us some incredibly talented musicians in the past, with associated acts such as St. Vincent, Bon Iver, and The National.
The Closing Track 