Carrie & Lowell

Carrie & Lowell is the seventh studio album by the American musician Sufjan Stevens. It was released on March 31, 2015, by Asthmatic Kitty. It was produced by Stevens, and features guest contributions from Thomas Bartlett, Sean Carey, Casey Foubert, Ben Lester, Nedelle Torrisi, and Laura Veirs. Unlike Stevens' previous album, the electronic The Age of Adz (2010), Carrie & Lowell features sparse instrumentation. Music critics noted the album's instrumentation as being reminiscent of the performer's earlier indie folk–inspired material. Lyrically, the album sees him explore the fallout from the 2012 death of his mother Carrie, and the relationship between Stevens and Carrie's second husband Lowell Brams, who helped Stevens establish Asthmatic Kitty. Carrie & Lowell was supported by the lead singles "No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross" and "Should Have Known Better". The album saw word-of-mouth marketing through its one-week preview on NPR, and after the song "Death with Dignity" featured in the video games Life Is Strange 2 (2018) and The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit (2018). Stevens later supported the album through the Carrie & Lowell Tour, which spanned North America, Europe, and Australasia. Carrie & Lowell received immediate widespread critical success, with many labeling it Stevens' best, and it was routinely named among the best albums of 2015 in many publications' year-end lists. Commercially, Carrie & Lowell debuted and peaked at number ten on the US Billboard 200 with 53,000 equivalent album units, of which 51,000 came from pure sales; as of July 2015, the album has sold 105,000 units in the US, with almost half sold on vinyl.