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Carrie & Lowell
by
Carrie & Lowell Image
Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 40 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.8

Universal acclaim- based on 600 Ratings

  • Summary: The seventh full-length studio release for the singer-songwriter features contributions from Thomas Bartlett, Sean Carey, Casey Foubert, Ben Lester, Nedelle Torrisi, and Laura Veirs.
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  • Record Label: Asthmatic Kitty
  • Genre(s): Singer/Songwriter, Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Lo-Fi, Indie Pop, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Indie Folk, Chamber Pop
  • More Details and Credits »

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 40
  3. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. The A.V. Club
    Mar 31, 2015
    100
    Meet Carrie & Lowell on its terms and it’s revelatory.
  2. Absolute Punk (Staff reviews)
    Mar 30, 2015
    98
    Carrie & Lowell leaves everything on the table, and as a result it's the most open, transparent and heartfelt record Stevens has made in his career. Sometimes, that's all you need in order to make a masterpiece.
  3. Slant Magazine
    Mar 17, 2015
    90
    If The Age of Adz harnessed Stevens's limpid melodies to crashing electronica, Carrie & Lowell finds that electronic experimentation sublimated, emerging primarily in the album's timing, which, like a click track, is more precise and mechanical than anything on Stevens's purely folk efforts.
  4. 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]
    All this publication's reviews
  5. Boston Globe
    Mar 30, 2015
    80
    As it stands, Stevens’s words drive these songs, and not always in the most linear fashion. Lyrics that meander in unruly metric on the page are parsed into eloquent couplets that, somehow, sound conversational.
  6. Record Collector
    Apr 3, 2015
    80
    He peppers the album with very evocative, specific references that often sound like childhood memories (“The man who taught me to swim couldn’t quite say my first name”), creating an intimacy that many of his previous records have lacked.
  7. PopMatters
    Mar 30, 2015
    60
    Carrie & Lowell is tough to nail down, but it’s also tough to listen to.

See all 40 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 76 out of 79
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 79
  3. Negative: 0 out of 79
  1. 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 toThis 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.… Expand
  2. markymark
    Mar 31, 2015
    10
    Beautiful. Devastating. Endlessly replayable. Incredibly personal. Unforgettable lyrics and melodies. I didn't think music could make me cryBeautiful. Devastating. Endlessly replayable. Incredibly personal. Unforgettable lyrics and melodies. I didn't think music could make me cry anymore. I was wrong.… Expand
  4. 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 themProbably 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.    … Expand
  5. gibusmann
    Feb 1, 2017
    10
    This record is simply the best indie record of the decade. Very few albums come close to Carrie & Lowell, not only in the beauty of the songsThis record is simply the best indie record of the decade. Very few albums come close to Carrie & Lowell, not only in the beauty of the songs and instrumentals, but in the emotional content. You can hear Sufjan's Soul and his sadness over his mother's death as each song progresses. The background of Sufjan's bedroom air conditioner whirring brings a humanity to it that the lyrics and content already amply provide, and perfect an otherwise instrumentally phenomenal album. Overall, Carrie and Lowell is Sufjan Stevens' best record, by quite a margin. I'd highly recommend listening to this album several times, even if it doesn't "Click" with you, for the first time.… Expand
  6. Lopesito27
    Jan 23, 2021
    9
    This is a hauntingly beautiful and intimate experience, although it might be a little too monotone for someone who's not into it. It alsoThis is a hauntingly beautiful and intimate experience, although it might be a little too monotone for someone who's not into it. It also always finds a way to elevate its worse tracks.… Expand
  7. longjetty7
    Apr 4, 2015
    9
    It took me a bit to warm up to this album, but now I really like it. The lyrics are incredibly dark, but the music is soft, simple, andIt took me a bit to warm up to this album, but now I really like it. The lyrics are incredibly dark, but the music is soft, simple, and beautiful. It's a nice combination that makes for a very thoughtful and introspective album. It's completely unpretentious, but it's the sort of album that's crafted so well you don't fully realize how good it is until it's over and you're left just sitting there wanting to play it again. It's hard to pick a standout track since they're all pretty strong.… Expand
  8. jake_gibbs
    Oct 24, 2015
    4
    I listed to the music without paying attention to the lyrics and it was so freaking maudlin sounding that I had no interest in listening to itI listed to the music without paying attention to the lyrics and it was so freaking maudlin sounding that I had no interest in listening to it again. From other reviews, it sounds like Sufjan's written a heartfelt collection about a lost loved one which is great, but for me, the music has to be there first before I get to the lyrics and these melodies went nowhere for me.… Expand

See all 79 User Reviews

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