Elton John and Brandi Carlile stand on a stage in front of the title of their album “Who Believes in Angels?” The album, which John described as “a new start,” was released April 4. Image from Official Elton John Site.

I was absolutely ecstatic when I opened Spotify Wednesday, April 9, to see that Brandi Carlile and Elton John had released an album together five days prior. Like any self-respecting human, I love Elton John. I love Brandi Carlile even more. Suffice it to say, it was an incredible day for me and my music taste.

Initially, I was pleasantly surprised by the two of them releasing music together. While it is not out of the blue for Carlile to work with legendary musicians (see her longtime friendship with Joni Mitchell), I found myself remembering high energy Elton John songs such as “I’m Still Standing” and “Cold Heart” and was intrigued to see how Carlile would blend her folk style with John’s more upbeat music. When I thought about it a bit longer and remembered Elton John’s more soulful songs, such as “Your Song” and “Rocket Man,” I realized the two might fit together better than I had first expected. I began to listen to the album with an excited curiosity.

“Who Believes in Angels?” instantly smashed away my folk expectations with its first song, “The Rose of Laura Nero,” which begins with two minutes of synth ambience and an amazing guitar solo. When John and Carlile start singing, their voices are just as comforting as they always are. The accompanying piano and acoustic guitar helped me feel like I was in a more familiar territory — although the synth sound does not entirely disappear, an almost gospel-like choir appears. Even with an injured foot, I had to get up and start dancing. With its second song, the album continues to embody the glorious funk and weirdness I have come to love both artists for.

While the album starts with energizing songs that feel like the musical equivalent of an infectious laugh, Carlile and John also gift the listener with slower, more emotional songs. These songs, including “Never Too Late” and “You Without Me,” captivated me just as much as the earlier, more upbeat ones. “You Without Me” stood out as beautiful in a way distinct from the rest of the album.

So caught up in the first half, I nearly missed what became startlingly apparent in the album’s second disc, and eventually my second listen-through. “Who Believes in Angels?” beautifully deals with themes of mortality, loss and the mysteries of life and death. Carlile and John call the listener to take charge of their life and live every moment with love. “Never Too Soon” reminds us that “There’s a last time for everything / but we won’t ever know,” while “A Little Light” encourages us not to let fear dictate our lives with the lyrics, “I guess it’s no fun to have a heart while we are living through these days / But there’s still a lot of beauty dancing circles ’round this place.”

Many of the songs also delight in the uncertainty of the world, with “The River Man” going from slow to celebratory and asking, “Who knows what the river man knows?” Almost every song reminds us of the beauty of the present moment and how amazing it is to be alive, encouraging us to focus on the choices we make and the people we love — to “swing for the fences/ take a shot at the moon” in “Swing for the Fences.”

The only song in the album that sounds genuinely distraught is the title track, “Who Believes in Angels?,” in which John and Carlile address the fear that comes with mortality and desperately ask, “What are the angels gonna do with you and I?” While the singers’ talent is clear throughout the whole album, the strength of their combined voices particularly shines through in this song. The anguish in “Who Believes in Angels?” contrasts the rest of the album, in which hope is the reigning emotion.

The unsettling question is answered in the final song, “When This Old World Is Done With Me,” which John sings alone. It’s a classically Elton John song, telling the listener “When this old world is done with me / Just know I came this far / To be broken up in pieces / Scatter me among the stars / When this old world is done with me / When I close my eyes / Release me like an ocean wave / Return me to the tide.”

As is John and Carlile’s specialty, “Who Believes in Angels?” makes the listener feel like they are at the start of an adventure — the beginning of a hike, road trip or the rest of their life. With reliably amazing drum beats throughout, a mix of acoustic and electric guitar and powerhouse vocals, “Who Believes in Angels?” comforts the listener and spurs them into dance.