Sufjan Stevens

When calling 'DIBS' fails...

When scissors, rock, paper fails...

When comparing dick inches fails (we all hang equally; it's just a matter of 'to the left' or 'to the right')...

When two or more of us love an album so much that there is no other option other than to double team the review...

This is when we do a duel review. And this dual reveiw is brought you by Del and Tom for the album Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens.

Tom: Bro, I enjoyed Age of Adz, but Sufjan Stevens had my girth red lined during his Illinoise days when he wrote more as a story teller, singing songs of folk tales and historical stories relating to Illinois and Michigan. His lyrical style is one that I could only can compare to Mark Kozelek, but less grumpy and an octave higher. He has this shpechial ability to bluntly tell stories that require your undivided attention.

On Carrie & Lowell, an album titled after his mother and step-father, Sufjan reverts back to his folky story-teller steeze, but this time the stories are auto-biographical. And this personal aspect is tying up my stomach in knots.

Now Del, I know for a fact that the only thing you like better than Age Of Adz is your sleeveless hooded sweatshirt. As a fan of that Sufjan album, what do you think of the 'less electronified' Carrie & Lowell?

Del: So...this is a circle of trust right!? True story: I never listened to Sufjan before Age of Adz. The electronic version of our dude is all I've ever heard. I know I know that makes me a sham and a monster. A sham monster as it were. That said it puts me in a unique position because the sea change from Age of Adz to Carrie and Lowell was so devastatingly different for me I wasn't sure I was going to be able to embrace Sufjan's "new old sound".

Those feelings dissipated about 18 seconds in to my first listen of the lead single, "No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross". Holy crap why did I never dig into the OG Sufjan before!? Why was I so stubbornly married to Age of Adz and Age of Adz only? Seriously why, Tom?

Tom: Because you are stubborn like me and need to find things for yourself sometimes.

Here is the thing about the two sides of Sufjan: the breezy vocals are a constant, but when they are not dressed up by that electronica exterior they affect you in a different way. I'm not saying this is good or bad.....just different. For me, his stripped down songs effect me more on an emotional level.

For example, vocally he always tends to do a melodic jump into falsetto within a single bar. It's the type of shit that is usually reserved for violins because the climb is so quick and effortless. And he always seems to break it out at the perfect time! Like on the first track 'Death With Dignity,' a track about the death of his mother. He sings about her spirit when he does the above mentioned falsetto jump:

Your apparition passes (jump) through me, in the willows.

Because the track is so bare in terms of instrumentation, your primary focus is on the lyrics and the melody. You just FEEL the conveyed emotion. When I first hear 'Death With Dignity' I swear I felt the spirit of Sufjan's mom pass though me too. It was some real Haley Joel Osment shit. During that moment I could see the condensation of my breath. True story.

Del: Breezy sounds so dismissive but I totally get where you're coming from with that. There's an air about Sujan's vocals that carries so much weight while being so soft and delicate. He is a spectre over the soundscapes that he creates. He is our holy ghost sent here to save us from ourselves. Oh shit did I just bring up the elephant in the room!? Sufjan has some serious deep seeded churchy vibes especially with this album's focus on death and grieving loss. Being spiritual in music doesn't have to be a bad thing though. Sufjan never takes you down the road of POD or Creed. The Church of Sufjan is more forward thinking than the alter of Alter Bridge.

Your focus on 'Death With Dignity' is warranted but I can't help but find myself jumping past it every time and playing "Should Have Known Better" over and over. Trauma never felt so empowered and inspired. Frightened feelings expressed so eloquently and honestly are very rare when they're not accompanied by blustery Bright Eyes bombastic overtures. The music from the 2:41 mark forward is so nuanced and oddly positive that it makes the regret and pain feel so cathartic.

Tom: It's so easy to go through and pick out the glorious shimmers of light shining all over this album. But like trying to count the reflections on a disco swirling around you it'd take forever and then you'd confuse yourself by wondering if you are counting the same special moments twice. Or thrice.

Thus, I'd like to summarize my feelings. Overall there is a creepy like calmness to this album. If you are a fan of Illinoise, most of these tracks are of the 'John Wayne Gacy Jr. mold', which may be why i can't shake the creepy feeling. Or it may be because he repeats lines like 'we are all going to die' five times in a row on '4th Of July.' Strangely though, it is as comforting as it is creepy. In context the acceptance of loss comes in the realization of hard truths and the blend is....EXACTLY how you described it....strangely cathartic.

Regardless, this is an album for self-reflection on cloudy days or to listen to when you're secretly peeping in Johnny's window to watch him rub lotion on his skin. GOD DAMN him and his flawless epidermis.

Sorry, I got off topic.

Anyhoo, this album is pain. It is beauty. It is inspiring. It's Sufjan, bro. I'm at 8.5 stars. Where you at Del bot?

Del: You can't see it but I'm nodding my head approvingly at all of that.

Also, whoa whoa whoa....so you're saying Illinoise is like this? *drops what he's doing and begins streaming on spotify*

.....OK i'm back.

I like that you described C&L as creepy. I agree the shit is creepy and so dark....yet also so shimmery light. I've been told in the past that I am a sucker for downer music and this to me feels like both a prime example and an exception to the rule. Sonicly schizophrenic? Quite possibly yes....and that doves tails quite nicely into my feelings towards the inspiration behind Carrie and Lowell. I can't help but think that Sufjan's complete musical DNA was hard coded by his experiences with his mother as a child. Wouldn't that seems to explain how the ever present battle between light and dark washes over everything he touches? The people around you during your developmental years truly help decide the type of person you'll be. Something something nature vs nurture amirite!? Sufjan's mom's battle with mental illness was and is his cross to bear.

Oh shit. Crosses.

I'm throwing down Christ talk again. I'm no born again but I do believe Carrie and Lowell was sent here to die for our listening sins. Most notably for not checking out Illinoise sooner. Obviously i'm projecting but don't we all do that? I feel like i'm asked more questions than I've answered and that's ok. Carrie and Lowell is doing that to me. So many introspective feelz right now you guys. At the end of the day that's what you want from the music you listen to I suppose. This album stays with you. It follows you through your day long after you've pressed stop. Right here I was going to make a Jesus/ Footprints in the sand joke to really wrap this up in a tight neat bow....but Sufjan deserves better than that and so do you. Instead let me just say that I love this album. This is my one and only consideration for album of the year to date. (9.5 stars)

Tom: Last thought. Just to clarify (and not mis-lead), Illinoise is not exactly C&L. Some songs, yes, but overall Illinoise is grander and has more instrumentiation. Both are great though...the 2 albums are like brothers with different personalities. Age of Adz is the cool cousin who was birthed by a wacky aunt.

And although we are focusing primarily on 3 of his albums, lets not forget that Sufjan has many great albums. However, Carrie and Lowell ranks up there with the best.