The 16-track compilation, due November 6 via Asthmatic Kitty, gathers material from two decade-old box sets along with one previously unreleased song.
Sufjan Stevens has spent more than two decades building one of the most idiosyncratic Christmas catalogs in contemporary indie music. On November 6, Asthmatic Kitty will release Worst Christmas Ever!, a 16-track compilation that pulls together 15 recordings from his earlier holiday box sets and adds one new track, “On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better).”
The album functions less as a new statement than as a compressed entry point. Stevens began recording Christmas songs in 2001 as gifts for friends and family, typically working for a week each December at home with whoever was available. The project eventually produced nearly five hours of material. Asthmatic Kitty collected the first run as Songs for Christmas in 2006 and a second batch as Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas, Vols. 6-10 in 2012.
Worst Christmas Ever! draws originals such as “Sister Winter” and “Put The Lights On The Tree” alongside versions of standards like “Silent Night” and “Joy To The World.” Stevens performed, recorded, and produced the material, with contributions over the years from Aaron and Bryce Dessner, Richard Reed Parry, James McAlister, Rob Moose, and Shara Nova, among others. Ben Giles created the collage artwork; Stevens handled layout and design.
The release follows last year’s 10th anniversary reissue of Carrie & Lowell and Stevens’ production work on Meg Lui’s forthcoming debut album, Instant Validation. It also gives the Christmas catalog a more manageable shape, even if the title suggests the season it documents was rarely simple.
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ROMBO Editorial Staff
The collective voice behind ROMBO Magazine’s news, reviews, features, and cultural coverage.
