Carrie & Lowell
by Sufjan Stevens
User Score
8.8

Universal acclaim- based on 600 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 552 out of 600
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 600
  3. Negative: 36 out of 600
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  1. markymark
    Mar 31, 2015
    10
    Beautiful. Devastating. Endlessly replayable. Incredibly personal. Unforgettable lyrics and melodies. I didn't think music could make me cry anymore. I was wrong.
  2. sheldoncoooper
    Sep 23, 2015
    10
    One of my favorite albums of all time. Absolutely brilliant.

    Lemon yoghurt, remember I pulled at your shirt
    I dropped the ashtray on the floor
    I just wanted to be near you
  3. thelastv
    Sep 14, 2015
    10
    Simply the best. His heart is stripped down, laid, bear for all to see. Downright melancholy, yet uplifting and hopeful at the same time. Tears will be shed.
  4. Smick
    Mar 31, 2015
    10
    The most structurally perfect album I've ever heard. Every song is flawless, and the journey Sufjan takes you on, while difficult, is ever so rewarding.
  5. Jeff-S
    Apr 30, 2015
    10
    Motoflu couldn't have said it better...WOW
    This one is a masterpiece but as others have warned, you feel his pain. I always considered Illinois his best and songs like John Wayne Gacy, Jr. stay with me forevere. On Carrie & Lowell the whole album stays with you.
  6. flynn4red
    Mar 31, 2015
    10
    At every point, this album delights. It's not an easy listen, by any means, and Stevens' has evidently laid his thoughts and desperations completely bare here. Whilst the music is delightful, and very evocative, it's job is to complinent the stunning lyrical work across the eleven tracks. That's where the real drive of this record is. I'll admit: I cried several times (Fourth of July isAt every point, this album delights. It's not an easy listen, by any means, and Stevens' has evidently laid his thoughts and desperations completely bare here. Whilst the music is delightful, and very evocative, it's job is to complinent the stunning lyrical work across the eleven tracks. That's where the real drive of this record is. I'll admit: I cried several times (Fourth of July is particularly hard to listen to, even knowing where it's building to). Sufjan's best since illinois, but also his quietest. You've got to give it your undivided attention. In any other year, unquestionably a contender for best album. But this year, it has some tough competition.… Expand
  7. lightheat
    Oct 31, 2017
    10
    I tend to think of myself as pretty hardened when listening to music. A good movie might elicit a few tears from me from time to time, but music rarely does. This one hit me like a dump trunk.

    Listening to this album is akin to watching the "Baby Mine" scene from Dumbo on repeat for 45 minutes straight. It's emotionally trying to get through songs like "Fourth of July," particularly if    I tend to think of myself as pretty hardened when listening to music. A good movie might elicit a few tears from me from time to time, but music rarely does. This one hit me like a dump trunk.

    Listening to this album is akin to watching the "Baby Mine" scene from Dumbo on repeat for 45 minutes straight. It's emotionally trying to get through songs like "Fourth of July," particularly if you have an ill or passed mother. His love and longing for "the spirit of his silence" is clear in every song, even when singing about her frequent missteps, and that makes it all the more poignant.

    Quite a departure from albums like Illinois, with its minimalist production, dreamy instrumentals, and Sufjan's signature soft voice, this album has been boiled down to just the essence of emotional catharsis. It's beautiful. Grab the tissues.    … Expand
  8. Stubert
    Apr 21, 2015
    10
    One of the saddest and most beautiful pieces of music to come out recently. He makes you feel exactly what he's going through. The music compliments the lyrics perfectly. Simple, tragic, and beautiful.
  9. simonman98
    Mar 31, 2015
    10
    Sufjan Stevens has created his most powerful album yet. Carrie and Lowell reveal much about him. It is not as complex musically as some of his other stuff but he is able to achieve something even greater here than his other albums. Sufjan has really made a masterpiece.
  10. frienderman
    Jul 3, 2016
    10
    Perhaps the most devastating, haunting, beautiful, reflective and profound collection of poetry that has ever been recorded; Carrie & Lowell is nothing short of perfect.
  11. lippert18
    Nov 13, 2019
    10
    One of the best albums I've ever listened to.

    Should I mention 1 favorite song: Fourth of July
  12. mdhenshaw
    Apr 1, 2015
    10
    Sufjan Stevens first proper album since the Age of Adz is heartbreaking look at his relationship with his late estranged mother. This is perhaps Sufjan's most personal record and it's his his most complete work.
  13. exodus9237
    May 5, 2015
    10
    One word: Beautiful. Sufjan Stevens is really a great storyteller, and here the story is him, his life, his emotions. Carrie & Lowell, reminds you of one of my favorite Sufjan albums, Seven Swans, the only difference? Here he really opens up, obvioulsy with excellent harmonies and arrangements that only his voice could give life to.
  14. NickolasM
    Mar 31, 2015
    10
    There are no read-between-the-lines songs in here. They are all quite direct and sincere and you feel like diving in his mourning, singing along the guitar/piano-driven tracks. Sufjan suffers like a normal human being who has just lost his mother. And this is actually sweet. But he writes about it like everything else around him is dead, too, thus leaving you without hope. And the mostThere are no read-between-the-lines songs in here. They are all quite direct and sincere and you feel like diving in his mourning, singing along the guitar/piano-driven tracks. Sufjan suffers like a normal human being who has just lost his mother. And this is actually sweet. But he writes about it like everything else around him is dead, too, thus leaving you without hope. And the most weird thing of all? He makes you feel nice about it with his melodies, just because he is that kind of guy· he can transform his dark lyrics and sad chords into some kind of redemption. For him and for you, too.
    Read the whole review here: http://www.anartcalled.blogspot.gr/2015/03/sufjan-stevens-carrie-lowell.html    … Expand
  15. chickenbowl
    Apr 2, 2015
    10
    This is more than an album. It's an exhaustion of emotion. It's reconciliation, it's guilt, it's vulnerable. Sufjan captures what it means to lose all you wish you had. He lays everything out for the listener and never misses a beat.
  16. Edjackson
    Mar 31, 2015
    10
    These songs brought me to places I never thought I could go with music. Sufjan Steven here is a true artist - heavenly humanizing his pain through his accords and poetry. I hope some more people can see this album the way I did. If we all could, I think we would all be grateful to Steven. I certainly am.
  17. smithsgirl
    Apr 1, 2015
    10
    Once you know the background to this album, there is nothing that can be written that won't sound clichéd or gushing.

    Carrie & Lowell should come with a health warning.
  18. cwilliams90
    Apr 4, 2015
    10
    Sometimes we get caught up in the progression of an artist that we expect big and bold and transformative things, but this isn't an attempt to recreate any magic from past albums. It's not an attempt for perfection, it's more of an attempt to cope with the toughest parts of loss and tragedy while trying to balance some of the uplifting themes that's buoyed him from such heartbreak in theSometimes we get caught up in the progression of an artist that we expect big and bold and transformative things, but this isn't an attempt to recreate any magic from past albums. It's not an attempt for perfection, it's more of an attempt to cope with the toughest parts of loss and tragedy while trying to balance some of the uplifting themes that's buoyed him from such heartbreak in the past. It's dark, it's twisted, haunting, but yet the beauty comes from the sort of catharsis from the tracks. It's subdued and perhaps stripped down, but it wouldn't fit any other way. That's what makes it a special album. It leaves you understanding the pain he's gone through and that's one of the most powerful things an artist can do. Like he said, "This is not my art project. This is my life."… Expand
  19. Rochefort10nh
    Apr 11, 2015
    10
    The most heart wrenching and devastatingly beautiful album I've ever listened to. I have been an avid Sufjan fan since Michigan and have enjoyed all of his works but this, this is on another level. It is so deeply personal yet I'm able to apply every song to my own circumstances of loss (the death of my father) and longing and feel both sympathy and empathy. It resonates to my very coreThe most heart wrenching and devastatingly beautiful album I've ever listened to. I have been an avid Sufjan fan since Michigan and have enjoyed all of his works but this, this is on another level. It is so deeply personal yet I'm able to apply every song to my own circumstances of loss (the death of my father) and longing and feel both sympathy and empathy. It resonates to my very core and brings out deep emotions that I often lock away - the very essence of catharsis.… Expand
  20. isitherightword
    Apr 13, 2015
    10
    I am a huge fan and have been for about 10 years, but I really feel this is his best work, and for me, that is saying a lot, Illinoise and Michigan have been on heavy rotation on almost every playlist I have made in the past 10 years. It's an incredible album. I'm really in awe of it, and the show seems equally incredible. Bravo Sufjan.
  21. Jzwimmer
    May 13, 2015
    10
    With "Carrie & Lowell", Sufjan Stevens has released his greatest record thus far. Plain and simple, this is truly an album for the ages.

    This isn't your typical "depressing" record with sappy songs regarding grief or heartbreak. It doesn't make any desperate attempts to claw at your heartstrings; in fact, it almost seems like it's running away from the audience at points, acutely aware    With "Carrie & Lowell", Sufjan Stevens has released his greatest record thus far. Plain and simple, this is truly an album for the ages.

    This isn't your typical "depressing" record with sappy songs regarding grief or heartbreak. It doesn't make any desperate attempts to claw at your heartstrings; in fact, it almost seems like it's running away from the audience at points, acutely aware of its unsettling vulnerability. There are moments on this album where the songs unexpectedly break into ethereal instrumental sections, made up of gorgeously layered synths and multiple vocal tracks. For some, these tiny instrumental reprieves may conjure up visions of church hymns or choral orchestrations, or perhaps impressionistic paintings showcasing streams of soft light shining through thick, dark barriers of clouds. When these instrumental "interruptions" occur, it induces a sense of uncertainty regarding the music itself; was the music doing what it meant to do? Was it being too honest or too emotional? Was it simply so fatiguing for Sufjan that he couldn't perpetuate the songs any farther? Who knows. Fortunately, these moments of instrumental prominence don't unforgivably disrupt the record. In fact, these musical escapes authentically contribute to the overall moods surrounding the album, which could, very basically, be described as sparsely haunting or as beautifully destructive.

    Some of the greatest moments in musical history possess poignantly dichotomous kinds of atmospheres, and "Carrie & Lowell" is no exception. The subject matter on this album is at times abysmally dark, resting in the deepest caverns of Sufjan's psyche. FYI, in short, this album was inspired by the death of Sufjan's somewhat estranged mother, and he has said that composing this record functioned as a coping mechanism for him, a cathartic and unabashed expression of his profound (some would say disturbing or downright frightening) grief and depression, and the aftermath of his psychological trauma.

    He sings about many intensely personal topics, including suicidal thoughts, the detrimental effects his mother's death and subsequent melancholia had on his relationships and his perspective on life, specific childhood memories recalling brief times when he was emotionally and physically close to his mother, etc. This album is a brutally honest illustration of a person's excruciating emotional torture and how they attempt to cope. Despite the heavily serious and deeply intense, complex source material, the actual music here is strikingly simplistic and genuinely beautiful in its placidity.

    Made up primarily of acoustic guitar, piano, harmonized layers of Sufjan's voice, precisely-utilized synthesizers/electronics, and Sufjan's quietly devastating lead vocals, this album exudes an earnest singer-songwriter/folk influence, reminiscent of the late Elliott Smith and the less mature but similarly talented Conor Oberst. The music is light and feathery, comprised of gentle wisps and ephemeral bliss. The vocal performance here is understated and restrained, full of impeccably refined melodies that are often heart-wrenching and candidly contemplative. There's no belting or gravely howling here - just Sufjan's subtly expressive whisper, which just so happens to be consistently on pitch and pleasingly professional. With enough empathy being employed, one can begin to hear a visceral, deathly tone in his voice, one of painfully constricted heartbreak and utter hopelessness.

    On the outstanding opening track, "Death With Dignity", there's a line where Sufjan's voice smoothly ascends as he exclaims, "your apparition passes through me", referring to his mother's ghost. The statement, musically, is as pretty as they come, but its lyrics speak of a scene that one would expect to see in a horror film. Such is the brilliant nature of "Carrie & Lowell": with every evocatively crushing lyrical statement or idea, there's an equally touching and heavenly musical accompaniment. The product of this convergence is a deceptively powerful and intimate collection of cryptically lyrical songs, masterfully skeletal in their construction, impressively effortless and convincing in their execution, as well as eerily entrancing and soothingly rustic in their sonic aesthetic. This is a tragically elegant behemoth of an album. I strongly recommend it to anyone who appreciates musical beauty and/or artfully creative ventures. Beware, however - this can be a very emotionally draining listen. As another FYI, this album is going to be a grower for many people. You may not be affected or stunned right away, as it can take some time to really connect with the material here. However, when it clicks for you, you'll be blown away by this music. I know I was.

    Favorite tracks: Death With Dignity, All Of Me Wants All Of You, Eugene, Fourth of July, The Only Thing
    All of the songs are FANTASTIC, but if I had to pick favorites, these would make the cut.

    10/10    … Expand
  22. Basquilly
    May 10, 2015
    10
    I really like this album. It's a nice album. You should listen to this album. Then you should cry. I cry. I cry like a little baby. Is this 150 characters yet?
  23. DannyGlock
    Apr 30, 2015
    10
    Beautiful and piercing. This is a comprehensive album; there are no loose ends. The same skill Stevens displayed in Age of Adz, this time filtered through Seven Swans minimalism. Masterpiece is the term that comes to mind.
  24. Ith
    Jun 9, 2015
    10
    Probably my favorite album of all time. So beautiful and powerful. Sufjan is a master, he can take these horrible expiriences and make them into something depressing yet beautiful

    Thank you Sufjan, thank you.
  25. afom
    May 19, 2015
    10
    The best album of Sufjan Stevens so far.His emotional lyrics and his beautiful music goes together. I love all his tracks but if a gun is pointed at my head and if I had to choose I would choose "The only thing".
  26. troyissocool
    May 30, 2015
    10
    This album is the most lyrically beautiful album you may ever hear. It's not for everyone in that most of these songs differ from Age Of Adz, Illinois, and Seven Swans. Its more of polished and matured version of Seven Swans, but its easily the most heartwrenching. This album is for the pessimistic. It shows the stage in Steven's life where he or someone he loved suffered from drugThis album is the most lyrically beautiful album you may ever hear. It's not for everyone in that most of these songs differ from Age Of Adz, Illinois, and Seven Swans. Its more of polished and matured version of Seven Swans, but its easily the most heartwrenching. This album is for the pessimistic. It shows the stage in Steven's life where he or someone he loved suffered from drug addiction, alcoholism, and depression. The best track in my opinion would be "The Only Thing". Just totally captivating stuff. If you can't relate to his tracks, then you have never felt pain. You'll cry and expect the pain to end, but it doesnt. He opens his chest for 44 minutes and that's the most beautiful thing an artist could do.

    Suggested Tracks:
    -Death With Dignity
    -Should've Known Better
    -Eugene
    -Fourth of July
    -The Only Thing
    -No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross
    -John My Beloved    … Expand
  27. mc_ryn
    Mar 12, 2016
    10
    Sufjan Stevens's music is a gift to mankind.............................................................................................................
  28. Mannhorse
    Jan 15, 2016
    10
    What a record. The third track and eight track, though incredibly vague with its lyrics, still break my heart when I listen to them now. Sufjan has such vivid memories of things that probably happened long ago.

    BUY THIS ALBUM
  29. franiel32
    Jan 8, 2016
    10
    Sufjan sounds wonderfully poignant and inspired on this album. One of the best things I've heard all year. If you're a Sufjan or folk music/indie music fan this is definitely for you. Good music. :)
  30. Patroclus
    Mar 14, 2016
    10
    For many reasons, this was my favorite album of 2015, and of the last decade. Sufjan turns his lyrical talent inwards to create a truly empathetic album. We share in his pain, but also a sense of hope. When I saw him perform live he joked with the audience that they gave him support, while he in turn shared his misery. I think the support goes both ways.
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best Album of 2015
18
#18 Most Discussed Album of 2015
41
#41 Most Shared Album of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 40
  3. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. New York Daily News (Jim Faber)
    May 1, 2015
    80
    The impeccable music Stevens has created gives shape to the chaos of his emotions.
    Read full review
  2. Under The Radar
    Apr 16, 2015
    85
    As always, Stevens' precise details makes his songs ring through with truth. [Apr - May 2015, p.87]
  3. Magnet
    Apr 15, 2015
    90
    The bona-fide masterpiece that Stevens' career has culminated in, and likely the one that will come to define his career. [No. 119, p.58]
See all critic reviews »