LISTEN TO SUFJAN STEVENS’ NEW SINGLE, ‘ON THIS CHRISTMAS (IT ONLY GETS BETTER)’
WORST CHRISTMAS EVER! LP OUT THIS FRIDAY VIA ASTHMATIC KITTY
Watch video for ‘On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)’ here:
https://youtu.be/R8MBM_wDZVo
Watch Worst Christmas Ever! product video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDYRTJQbni0
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Sufjan Stevens has today shared his new track, ‘On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)’ taken from his upcoming holiday album, Worst Christmas Ever!. This album is set to be released this Friday (6 November) via Asthmatic Kitty.
The track is built around apology, self-assessment, and asking for forgiveness. It’s the first new Christmas song written, produced, and performed by Sufjan in nearly 15 years. “On this Christmas, I ask forgiveness for all the funny things I’ve said and done,” he sings. The album will also feature 15 essentials of Sufjan’s indie-Christmas staples, drawn from more than 100 Christmas recordings across the box sets Songs for Christmas and Silver & Gold, plus the previously unheard track ‘On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)’.
Reflecting on the song, Sufjan says:
“I love the idea of a Christmas apology. A holiday characterized by the giving and receiving of gifts might be made even better by the giving and receiving of forgiveness. ‘I’m sorry’ is the ultimate ice-breaker in a moment of conflict, contention, and misunderstanding. Let’s try to be better this year: more loving, forgiving, welcoming and reckoning. This song is a prayer—that we can all find a way to yield to the wisdom and understanding of forgiveness. I believe the world will find its way.”
‘On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)’ arrives alongside a new video, created by Sufjan, Michael O’Neal, and Cubby Graham. Six thousand stills were hand-painted by Sufjan, Michael, Cubby, and Hannah Cohen for the video.
Sufjan first started making Christmas music in 2001. At the time he didn’t plan for those early songs to start a snowball that would lead to nearly five hours of Christmas songs that now makes up his holiday catalogue. The intention was simple – make a few Christmas gifts for friends and family. And the process was the same each time: one week in December, usually at home, he’d pull in whoever was around, usually friends, roommates, or musical peers. In 2006, Asthmatic Kitty collected the first five volumes as Songs for Christmas, Vols. 1-5 and in 2012 the label released Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas, Vols. 6-10, compiling five more EPs recorded between 2006 and 2010.
Worst Christmas Ever! pulls from across both. The perennial fan favourites are all here: ‘Sister Winter’, ‘Put The Lights On The Tree’, ‘Only At Christmas Time’, and the title track, ‘That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!’. As is ‘Justice Delivers Its Gift’, Sufjan’s ecclesiastical take on the Burl Ives classic, ‘Silver & Gold’, ‘Christmas In The Room’, ‘Silent Night’ and more.
The volumes these songs come from were made with a long running cast of collaborators, including AaronandBryce Dessner of The National, Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire, Cat Martino, Gabriel Kahane, Casey Foubert, James McAlister, Rosie Thomas, Marla Hansen, Olivier Manchon, Sebastian Krueger, and Daniel, Elin, Lilly, and Ida Smith of Danielson.
Speaking to Vulture about his holiday catalogue in 2022, Sufjan put it plainly: “There are no rules and regulations when it comes to Christmas culture.” His unguarded enthusiasm for the genre itself, the freedom he takes in celebrating with both reverence and rebellion, and his belief that Christmas music holds a multiplicity of sacred and secular significance that is ultimately ours for the taking make his Christmas catalogue a standout.
Pre-order Worst Christmas Ever! here:
https://sufjanstevens.lnk.to/worstchristmasever
Pre-order limited Dinked edition here:
https://ffm.bio/sufjanstevens
Pre-order Rough Trade exclusive here:
https://www.roughtrade.com/product/worst-christmas-ever
High res images can be found here
Cover art credit: collage by Ben Giles, layout and design by Sufjan Stevens
Worst Christmas Ever! tracklist:
1. Silent Night
2. Put The Lights On The Tree
3. Holly Jolly Christmas
4. Christmas In The Room
5. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (Christmas Infinity Voyage Version)
6. Sister Winter
7. Joy To The World
8. On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)
9. Angels We Have Heard On High (Christmas Infinity Voyage Version)
10. Only At Christmas Time
11. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (Christmas Unicorn Version)
12. That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!
13. Sleigh Ride
14. Justice Delivers Its Gift
15. Auld Lang Syne
16. Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages)