Sufjan Stevens has been releasing music for 15 years now, and his style has spanned far across the board in terms of any one genre. This time around, however, Sufjan has embraced a dark but soft sound with his new album, Carrie & Lowell, which is named after his stepfather and deceased mother, and we've featured our two favorites from the project below. Our first pick from the new body of tracks is "Drawn to the Blood", a tranquil, minimalist effort that makes use of an acoustic guitar and Sufjan's own gentle croon for the first two minutes before branching off into a sea of haunting electronic soundscapes for the remainder of the effort. We also enjoyed "Fourth of July", which, despite the title, is not a very joyous track, but rather, about as heavy as a song gets. You can stream Carrie & Lowell in its entirety over on NPR, and if you like what you hear, then pre-order the project on iTunes via Asthmatic Kitty. It'll be out officially on March 30/31).
Sufjan Stevens