Sufjan Stevens' landmark album Carrie & Lowell turns 10 years old today. (We'll have a retrospective online in a bit. UPDATE: Here it is.) To celebrate, he's releasing a deluxe anniversary edition through his Asthmatic Kitty Records, complete with a second LP's worth of bonus material. As a preview, Stevens has shared a demo of "Mystery Of Love."
The Carrie & Lowell reissue features seven previously unreleased bonus tracks, including demos of "Death With Dignity," "Should Have Known Better," "The Only Thing," and "Eugene," and outtakes of "Fourth Of July" and "Wallowa Lake Monster." It also comes with a 40-page art book and a new essay from Stevens. Its artwork is a zoomed-out version of the Polaroid of Stevens' mother and stepfather, the actual Carrie and Lowell, used for the original release. Now you can see the preserved handwritten caption -- by Stevens' sister Djamilah -- that would eventually become the album's title years later.
Though most of us heard "Mystery Of Love" for the first time in Luca Guadagnino's 2017 blockbuster Call Me By Your Name, it was initially an outtake from the Carrie & Lowell sessions. It's heart-wrenching enough in the movie, but knowing it was written within the Carrie & Lowell universe makes it even more devastating. Listen to that and see the reissue tracklist below.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Death With Dignity"
02 "Should Have Known Better"
03 "All Of Me Wants All Of You"
04 "Drawn To The Blood"
05 "Eugene"
06 "Fourth Of July"
07 "The Only Thing"
08 "Carrie & Lowell"
09 "John My Beloved"
10 "No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross"
11 "Blue Bucket Of Gold"
12 "Death With Dignity" (Demo)
13 "Should Have Known Better" (Demo)
14 "Eugene" (Demo)
15 "The Only Thing" (Demo)
16 "Mystery Of Love" (Demo)
17 "Wallowa Lake Monster" (Version 2)
18 "Fourth Of July" (Version 4)
The Carrie & Lowell 10th Anniversary Edition is out 5/30 via Asthmatic Kitty.
