In March 2015, Sufjan Stevens released Carrie & Lowell – his most personal album to date. Presented with an unexpected clarity of vision, the record was a return to Sufjan’s folk roots in its deliberate, sparse instrumentation. The album was an instant critical success, and in the years that followed the music would weave itself, undimming, into the fabric of our shared culture. Now RIAA-certified Gold, with the track “Fourth of July” achieving Platinum status, the album’s cultural resonance continues to grow.
Asthmatic Kitty Records now celebrates the ten-year anniversary of Carrie & Lowell with an expanded double-LP album that includes seven previously unreleased bonus tracks, a 40-page art book, and a new essay by Sufjan Stevens. Carrie & Lowell – 10th Anniversary Edition also offers an alternative cover: a full-framed version of the original Polaroid zoomed out to reveal the photo’s caption written in a child’s handwriting—“Carrie & Lowell”—disclosing the source of the album title (it was written by Sufjan’s sister Djamilah). The new edition was designed by Sufjan himself: the 40-page booklet contains various collages of vintage family photos spanning four generations interfused with artwork and drawings (on themes of death, dying, grief and the state of Oregon) as well as landscape photos Sufjan took while travelling across the western U.S. over a decade ago.
The original album is preserved on disc one, while disc two contains 40 minutes of extras, including demo versions of “Death With Dignity,” “Should Have Known Better,” “The Only Thing,” and “Eugene”. Expansive outtakes of “Fourth of July” and “Wallowa Lake Monster” are also included, both featuring a more cinematic mood. The final gem is the original demo of “Mystery of Love”, which was recorded around the same time as Carrie & Lowell. This song was scrapped for the album but later re-worked and re-recorded for Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name.
‘CARRIE & LOWELL – 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION’ LYRIC VIDEO PLAYLIST
All 18 Carrie & Lowell – 10th Anniversary Edition lyric videos are now live on YouTube.
Directed and Produced by Rena Johnson (@renacjohnson on Instagram), featuring original artwork, archival photos, and 8mm film from Sufjan Stevens.
‘CARRIE & LOWELL – 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION’ TRACKLIST
Disc 1:
1. Death with Dignity
2. Should Have Known Better
3. All of Me Wants All of You
4. Drawn To the Blood
5. Eugene
6. Fourth of July
7. The Only Thing
8. Carrie & Lowell
9. John My Beloved
10. No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross
11. Blue Bucket of Gold
Disc 2:
1. Death with Dignity (Demo)
2. Should Have Known Better (Demo)
3. Eugene (Demo)
4. The Only Thing (Demo)
5. Mystery Of Love (Demo)
6. Wallowa Lake Monster (Version 2)
7. Fourth of July (Version 4)
