Sufjan Stevens
“No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross”
Carrie & Lowell (out 03.31 on Asthmatic Kitty)
Considering he’s a popular artist who built his career on making intensely personal, affecting music, we really don’t know much about Sufjan Stevens. He’s written crushingly beautiful pieces about serial killers, single-parent homes, cancer patients, God, and myriad other topics with the kind of clarity that suggests a real-life connection. However, part of Stevens’ allure is the blurred line between where personal experience ends and his expansive imagination begins. While that ability to seamlessly embody those he writes about is one of his greatest strengths, it also leaves the listener asking questions about the man behind the music.
Now, on the eve of his 12th proper solo project, it looks like Stevens is ready to start answering some of those questions. In a must-read Pitchfork piece, the 39 year-old details the traumatic circumstances that inspired the creation of Carrie & Lowell — named for his late, troubled birthmother and stepfather — and offers a rare glimpse into his own personal life. The disc looks set to be a stark rumination on the one character who has been most elusive in his rich catalog: the man himself.
