Melancholy is a theme that runs through this record. From the opener, where the laid-back guitar comes in playing a simple melody and Sufjan comes in singing his sorrows, we partake on a journey through Sufjan’s childhood years, his times with his mother, why he liked her and, even, why he disliked her, all sung in a regretful and sad tone. It’s almost as if Sufjan wishes that he could have told his mom more and that he could have forgiven her for the mistakes that she made. It’s a very sad and honest record, which I think is a beautiful thing.

Musically, this record is simple. There isn’t anything groundbreaking here. But, the thing is, it doesn’t need to be. The guitar here (and sometimes, piano) accompanies Sufjan perfectly and I feel like another addition, another instrument, would worsen the record instead of improving it. Plus, to me, there’s just something that feels genuine about an artist using an acoustic guitar.

I think that an artist pouring out his feelings through an art form is fantastic. See : my love of Pinkerton. I feel like people don’t realise just how much courage it takes to do that. Sharing how you feel and sharing things that are personal to you with a friend is one thing, but doing it trough music that’s gonna be heard by thousands of people? That takes courage. I applaud Sufjan for doing that. Plus, it makes the record that much better. The record just wouldn’t work if Sufjan wasn’t being painfully honest in it. Just picture really sad music with non-descriptive lyrics. It just wouldn’t work. The guitar would sound out of place and his singing would as well. Sufjan needed a subject, something personal and close to him, to sing about for this record to work and he found the perfect one.

My highlights? While listening to Fourth of July, two months ago, I cried. I’m not sure what caused the crying. The lyrics? The music? Both? I don’t know. I do know that I got to the end of the song, where Sufjan sings “Were all gonna die” and I started crying, intensely. That, along with the fact that Fourth Of July is a great song, makes it one of my highlights. I really like the first two, Death with Dignity and Should have known better. They both have some of my favorite moments on the record (the piano playing the vocal melody in death and the part at 3:00 in should.) Along with that, I really like…every song on here. Honestly, there are some that I may like less than others, but they’re all great. I think that every song on here is a highlight to me.

When I first heard Carrie and Lowell, I actually just liked two songs on it (the first two). But, as I listened to it more, the positives of the record started revealing themselves to me. I first fell in love with the vocals. Full of emotion, honest, melancholic. I didn’t really notice these features , or at least appreciate them, at first, but, when I did, with that came me loving the vocals. Then I fell in love with the instrumentals. They may be simple, but they contrast with Sufjan’s vocals perfectly and they’re a joy to listen to. i especially like Fourth of July’s and Should Have Known Better’s instrumentals. Oh, and, the breakdown in Should Have Known Better gives me eargasms every time that I listen to it. It’s really fucking good.

Thanks for reading! Posting a new ‘WYSLT’ every sunday.