Sufjan Stevens Announces New Album Title & Release Date

Acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and indie-folk troubadour Sufjan Stevens will release a new album this April titled Carrie & Lowell, named in honour of his mother and stepfather.

With an Australian release date set for Friday, 3 April, via Asthmatic Kitty Records and Inertia, the record's arrival is sure to swell the hearts of long-time fans, though it also carries the slightest of stings in cementing the notion that the mastermind behind 2005's seminal orchestral indie-folk opus Illinois (and its well-regarded predecessor, 2003's Michigan) has probably truly abandoned his once-hotly touted "50 States Project" in favour of other muses. Yes, there have been outward hints since 2009's The BQE that the remaining 47 states may not be at the top of Stevens' album priority list, but hey — it's nice to have hope.

Marking Stevens' first new work since 2012, and first original album since 2010's The Age Of Adz, the 11-track Carrie & Lowell is pitched as a return to the more minimal, stripped-back indie-folk sounds that permeated Seven Swans (2004) — a reflective, spiritual album that served as a restful interlude between the two "state" records — and sees the 39-year-old singer-songwriter join forces with additional musicians Casey Foubert, Laura Veirs, Nedelle Torrisi, Sean Carey, Ben Lester and Thomas Bartlett. 

Although Carrie & Lowell will be Stevens' first new full-length in five years, don't make the mistake of thinking he's been kicking back and letting the time go by idly — he's been keeping busy with artistic collaborations with everyone from the New York City Ballet to the Brooklyn Academy Of Music, as well as dipping his toes in some alternative hip hop waters as one-third of Sisyphus.

You can watch a trailer for the new album below, but, given that there's no additional new material to show you (and the fact that we're kind of in a Sufjan mood now), we've included a couple of classics for good measure.

carrie & lowell track list

01 Death With Dignity
02 Should Have Known Better
03 All Of Me Wants All Of You
04 Drawn To The Blood
05 Fourth Of July
06 The Only Thing
07 Carrie & Lowell
08 Eugene
09 John My Beloved
10 No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross
11 Blue Bucket Of Gold