Five years after his last solo release, Detroit-born Sufjan Stevens has shared “No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross,” the first single off his upcoming album Carrie and Lowell. The track is hauntingly simple, featuring only an acoustic guitar and Stevens’ gentle crooning.
A return to his folk roots, “No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross” abandons the electronic experimentation of The Age of Adz and harkens back to earlier albums like Seven Swans and Michigan. The lyrics convey a vague melancholia and include everything from Biblical references to mentions of vampires, dragons, and Casper the Ghost. Despite Stevens’ eclectic (but familiar) allusions, his emotion is nearly palpable as he murmurs, “I’ll drive that stake through the center of my heart.”
Carrie and Lowell comes out March 31 via Asthmatic Kitty Records. Sufjan Stevens will be performing at Detroit’s own Masonic Temple on April 27. Listen to “No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross” below: