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AlbumE · 2015

Carrie & Lowell

by Sufjan Stevens

Carrie & Lowell is a 2015 indie folk album by Sufjan Stevens. It runs 11 tracks across 44 minutes on Asthmatic Kitty Records. Riffiter listeners rate it 4.2/5 from 77 ratings.

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Indie Folk · Singer-Songwriter · Folk

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#10 in Best albums of 2015 · #4 in Best indie folk albums

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4.2 /5
77 ratings
91 /100
10 critics
11
Tracks
44 min
Runtime
120 bpm
Tempo
G major
Key

Ratings

77 ratings · avg 4.2

0.5★5★

Recent activity

Reviews

1 review

  • 5.0
    Riffiter

    Grief, documented at whisper volume: Carrie & Lowell processes Stevens' mother's death through Oregon childhood memories, fingerpicked guitars and double-tracked hush. "Fourth of July"'s deathbed dialogue ends on the only conclusion — we're all gonna die — sung like a lullaby. The most devastating album of its decade, and among the most beautiful.

    Reply

14 people have played it start to finish

Critics

10 publications

  • The Guardian5/5
  • AllMusic5/5
  • The Daily Telegraph5/5
  • The A.V. ClubA
  • Pitchfork9.3/10
  • Entertainment WeeklyA−
  • NME9/10
  • The Independent4/5
  • Rolling Stone4/5
  • Spin8/10
  • Metacriticaggregate90/100
  • AnyDecentMusic?aggregate8.8/10

Scores collected from the English Wikipedia ratings box (CC BY-SA). Ratings belong to the publications; follow a link to read the review.

Carrie & Lowell album cover

Carrie & Lowell album cover

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Tracklist

11 tracks · 44 min

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Also released as

Every pressing below shares this page's rating and reviews — they are the same record.

  • Carrie & Lowell (10th Anniversary Edition)Anniversary edition · 2025 · 18 tracks
    1. 1Death with Dignity
    2. 2Should Have Known Better
    3. 3All of Me Wants All of You
    4. 4Drawn to the Blood
    5. 5Eugene
    6. 6Fourth of July
    7. 7The Only Thing
    8. 8Carrie & Lowell
    9. 9John My Beloved
    10. 10No Shade in the Shadow of The Cross
    11. 11Blue Bucket of Gold
    12. 12Death with Dignity (Demo)
    13. 13Should Have Known Better (Demo)
    14. 14Eugene (Demo)
    15. 15The Only Thing (Demo)
    16. 16Mystery Of Love (Demo)
    17. 17Wallowa Lake Monster (Version 2)
    18. 18Fourth of July (Version 4)

Ranked by listeners

top 5 · 7 rated tracks

According to Riffiter listeners, the best track on Carrie & Lowell is The Only Thing — rated 5.0/5 by 1 listener.

  1. 1The Only Thing5.01 rating
  2. 2Blue Bucket of Gold5.01 rating
  3. 3Should Have Known Better4.64 ratings
  4. 4Fourth of July4.53 ratings
  5. 5No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross4.51 rating

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About

Carrie & Lowell is the seventh studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens, released through Asthmatic Kitty on March 31, 2015. Unlike Stevens's previous studio album, the electronic The Age of Adz, Carrie & Lowell is sparsely instrumental and marks a return to the performer's indie folk roots. The album was given a one-week preview on NPR. The album was released to high critical acclaim, with many critics calling it one of Stevens' best. The simple folk tunes on the album were recorded in 2014 at Stevens' home studio in Brooklyn and some songs in Oregon, at Portland's Flora Studios and on an iPhone in a Klamath Falls hotel room. The songs were inspired by the 2012 death of his mother, Carrie, and the family trips they took to Oregon in Stevens' childhood. The album title also references his stepfather.

Read more

Carrie & Lowell debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 with 53,000 equivalent album units; it sold 51,000 copies in its first week, with the remainder of its unit count reflecting the album's streaming activity and track sales. The album also debuted at number 10 on the Canadian Albums Chart with sales of 4,400. As of July 2015, Carrie & Lowell has sold 105,000 copies in the United States, with approximately 30% (32,000) of its total having been sold in the vinyl configuration.

In brief

Is Carrie & Lowell good?
Riffiter listeners rate Carrie & Lowell 4.2/5 from 77 ratings.
What is the highest-rated track on Carrie & Lowell?
The Only Thing, rated 5.0/5 by 1 listener on Riffiter.
When was Carrie & Lowell released?
Carrie & Lowell was released in 2015 on Asthmatic Kitty Records.
How many tracks are on Carrie & Lowell?
Carrie & Lowell has 11 tracks, with a runtime of 44 minutes.
What genre is Carrie & Lowell?
Carrie & Lowell is catalogued under Indie Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Folk.
What BPM is Carrie & Lowell?
Carrie & Lowell runs at a median tempo of 120 BPM across its tracks, most often in G major, measured from audio analysis.
What albums are similar to Carrie & Lowell?
Listeners of Carrie & Lowell also rate For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver, In Rainbows by Radiohead, Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes.
Who produced Carrie & Lowell?
Carrie & Lowell was produced by Doveman and Sufjan Stevens. Doveman produced 3 of them.
Who wrote the songs on Carrie & Lowell?
Sufjan Stevens wrote 3 of the 11 tracks on Carrie & Lowell.

Credits

Produced by
Sufjan StevensDoveman
Written by
Sufjan Stevens

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