Stevens’ first new Christmas song in nearly 15 years appears alongside selections from his seasonal catalogue on Worst Christmas Ever!, out this Friday.
Sufjan Stevens has released ‘On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)’ ahead of his Christmas compilation Worst Christmas Ever!, which arrives this Friday (6 November) via Asthmatic Kitty. His first new Christmas song in nearly 15 years, the single joins 15 recordings selected from his two seasonal box sets, Songs for Christmas and Silver & Gold.
The new song considers the apologies we owe each other, with Stevens suggesting that forgiveness deserves a place among the usual Christmas gifts. ‘I love the idea of a Christmas apology,’ he says. ‘A holiday characterized by the giving and receiving of gifts might be made even better by the giving and receiving of forgiveness.’ Its accompanying video, created by Stevens, Michael O’Neal and Cubby Graham, features 6,000 stills hand-painted by the trio and Hannah Cohen.
Stevens’ Christmas recordings began in 2001 as gifts for friends and family, made during week-long sessions in December with whichever friends, housemates and musicians were around. Those annual projects eventually became two substantial collections: Songs for Christmas, Vols. 1–5, released in 2006, and Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas, Vols. 6–10, which followed in 2012. Across the recordings, contributors included Aaron and Bryce Dessner, Richard Reed Parry, Cat Martino, Gabriel Kahane, James McAlister and Rosie Thomas.
Worst Christmas Ever! brings together original songs including ‘Sister Winter’, ‘Christmas In The Room’ and ‘That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!’ alongside versions of traditional carols and seasonal standards. The 16-track selection draws from a catalogue of more than 100 Christmas recordings, with two different versions of ‘It Came Upon A Midnight Clear’ appearing on the album. Its artwork features a collage by Ben Giles, with layout and design by Stevens. The album is available to pre-order here.
