Sufjan Stevens has spent a quarter century making Christmas music, and until this week you needed two box sets and a free afternoon to hear it. Worst Christmas Ever, out now on Asthmatic Kitty Records, fixes that. It picks 15 favorites from more than 100 holiday recordings and adds something fans have waited years for: a brand new original, On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better).
On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)
The label calls it his first new Christmas song written, produced and performed entirely by himself in nearly 15 years. It is a song about apology and taking stock, the kind of quiet reckoning that tends to arrive in late December whether you invite it or not. He sings about asking forgiveness for the funny things he has said and done. It slots into the middle of the record, track eight, so it reads as part of the story instead of a bonus tacked on the end. Watch the video on the Sufjan Stevens YouTube channel.
Sufjan Stevens Worst Christmas Ever tracklist
The running order on the official release is Silent Night, Put the Lights On the Tree, Holly Jolly Christmas, Christmas in the Room, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (Christmas Infinity Voyage Version), Sister Winter, Joy to the World, On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better), Angels We Have Heard On High (Christmas Infinity Voyage Version), Only at Christmas Time, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (Christmas Unicorn Version), That Was the Worst Christmas Ever, Sleigh Ride, Justice Delivers Its Gift, Auld Lang Syne and Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages).
The fan favorites are all here. Sister Winter is still the one that sneaks up on you, Put the Lights On the Tree still sounds like a living room full of friends, and the title song still turns a bad holiday into something oddly comforting. Justice Delivers Its Gift is his churchy take on the Burl Ives standard Silver and Gold.
Worst Christmas Ever vinyl, CD and cassette
The record is out on LP, CD and cassette. The Asthmatic Kitty store carries an exclusive candy cane swirl pressing, with an option to bundle a limited 7 inch of the new song, and other color variants are spread across independent and major retailers. The label is pitching it as an easy, affordable way in for new listeners and a gift for anyone on your list, and the shop has the full run of seasonal merch too, from a hand glazed mug to wrapping paper with the cover art.
How a few Christmas gifts became five hours of songs
It started in 2001, when Stevens set out to make a Christmas present for family and friends and ended up with a seven song recording he called Noel, Vol. 1. Every few years he made another one, always the same way: one week in December, usually at home, with whoever happened to be around. That meant a rotating cast that included Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National, Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire, Cat Martino, Gabriel Kahane and members of Danielson. Asthmatic Kitty collected the first five volumes as Songs for Christmas in 2006 and the next five as Silver and Gold in 2012. This is the first time any of it has been squeezed onto a single record. Read the full story on the Asthmatic Kitty site.
Why it matters
Most holiday albums are made to fill a shelf. These songs were made as gifts, and it shows. If you want more records worth putting on in December, read about the A Charlie Brown Christmas vinyl, and for the other side of Stevens, the Carrie and Lowell vinyl is still the place to start.
