“Fourth of July,” the centerpiece of Sufjan Stevens’ latest album — the stripped-down, Elliott Smith-esque Carrie & Lowell — is as intimate and revealing as anything in the crafty singer/songwriter’s songbook. It’s about Stevens’ long-estranged mother, the “Carrie” from the album’s title, who died of stomach cancer in 2012. Spare and moody, “Fourth of July” floats by like an almost surreal dream, as minimal keyboard atmospherics and Stevens’ hushed voice relay what it was like to sit at his mother’s death bed, culminating with the repeated phrase, “We’re all gonna die.” Read more about Stevens in this week's Sound Advice.
Sufjan Stevens performs with Gallant Friday at the Aronoff Center. More info/tickets: cincinnatiarts.org.
