A recent purchase. Sufjan Stevens' latest album, Carrie and Lowell, is an exceptional achievement. Heartfelt, eloquent, literate and, above all, deeply heartbreaking. Ten listens in, I'm only beginning to skim the surface but I really get the feeling that this is a special album, a career highlight for Stevens. At this point, two outstanding songs come to mind. Death with Dignity sounds to me like the best song that Elliot Smith sadly never got a chance to write, a heartfelt farewell to a loved one. John My Beloved is the best thing Stevens has ever written and a song that I can't get out of my head right now, a heartbreaking meditation on loss and the transitory nature of our existence. But really, this should be taken as a self-contained suite of songs to be savoured in a single, if deeply troubling, listen. An astonishing piece of work.

Gryphon Diablo 300, dCS Rossini (with matching clock), Kharma Exquisite Mini, Ansuz C2, Finite Elemente Master Reference.