Carrie & Lowell (studio album) by Sufjan Stevens

This is a lovely, tender, record. In terms of songwriting its not very impressive at all, but its competent, and lyrically its very good.

90.91

La oda, el duelo y el come to terms con la muerte. Sufjan plasma su alma en puño y letra para describir la muerte de su madre. Después de Age of Adz, el artista regresa a sus raíces folk como en la frugal primeriza Michigan o en la idiosincrática y célebre Illinois.

Cada tema se siente como una pieza de poesía con múltiples texturas que parece aportar al bigger picture que configura el álbum como un todo. Se siente un ejercicio terapéutico y catártico; la aceptación y la realización que, después de todo, la vida sigue, y las personas que se han ido han forjado la misma para bien o mal. ¿Se puede reconciliar uno con los muertos? Acá Sufjan intenta hacerlo, más evidentemente en los diálogos intercalados entre él y su madre en Fourth of July.

Finales como el de Death with Dignity o el de Carrie & Lowell son aquel respiro profundo que toma el cantautor ante el inexorable vacío que lo rodea. Son tiempos muertos de una belleza indescriptible, un momento de self-consciousness y alineación de los propios pensamientos con aquellos recuerdos y personas.

Aparte del ya clásico “We’re all gonna die”, hay dos momentos en específico que me tocan más fuerte. Quizá porque son de dos temas que prefiero. Sin contar, por supuesto, la belleza de The Only Thing en la totalidad de sus palabras.

I forgive you, mother, I can hear you, And I long to be near you, but every road, leads to an end. (Death with Dignity)
There's blood on that blade. Fuck me, I'm falling apart. (No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross)
El mejor disco de Sufjan Stevens.

A stunning and emotional album that plays like looking through a photo album and seeing the story of somebody's life. Utterly heart-breaking but rewarding.

Solid album

Top 3 Songs

1. Fourth of July
2. Should Have Known Better
3. The Only Thing

From Tamthebam 06/17/2022 11:28

A beautiful album from Sufjan recorded after the death of his mother Carrie, it is reminiscent of the sparse instrumentation featured in his album Seven Swans unlike Age of Adz it is not electronic, it explores themes about relationships with his mother and also the relationship between Carrie and his step father Lowell Brams.

My favorite album of all time 10/10

From Jboy56 05/12/2022 06:55

Did not understand the praise.. Sorry for the blasphemy. Most of the songs are so minimal and lyrics strong, so I cant appreciate the message in full

What a deeply introspective and personal listen that I am very glad we were allowed to hear it. We are allowed to experience someone else's pain alongside them and go through their thoughts and ideas at the time. It is simply mesmerising to be able to be a part of this and it is almost impossible to not feel sadness or sorrow when you are taken on this journey. Lyrically, this record is a masterpiece and the way he uses his words to emote so effectively and take us on this painful ride with him is amazing. It always stuns me to silence when I listen deeply to the words and they are very easy to relate to. Musically, it is obviously weaker than his other releases and it is quite simple in terms of structure and musical layering. Also, the sound can get quite repetitive by the end and I do crave a bit of variation. The sound is pretty good and we are treated to some delicate piano and guitar playing but there is room to build on it. The musical complexity was obviously not on his mind though as you can tell he clearly had something he wanted to say and he expresses it beautifully. Overall, this is one of the greatest singer songwriter albums of all time and its raw and emotive nature is something that will move even the toughest people.

From arturguerra 03/31/2022 17:57

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