Sufjan Stevens: Carrie & Lowell

EVER THE restless soul, Sufjan Stevens has, since the hysteric electro of his last album proper, 2010's The Age Of Adz, released an album with his hip-hop flavoured supergroup (Sisyphus), co-written and toured a cosmic classical song-cycle, Planetarium, and released a second box set of Christmas songs. On first listen, the quiet, thoughtful Carrie & Lowell could be seen as a reaction to such grand scheming, yet over time it becomes clear that it may be Stevens' most fully realised record to date.