Sufjan Stevens releases first Christmas song in 15 years

In addition to the new track, Worst Christmas Ever! collects 15 holiday songs Stevens recorded between 2001 and 2012. Around half come from Songs for Christmas, a box set released in 2006 that covered five years of EPs. Silver & Gold, a second box set, arrived in 2012 and covered a second set of five EPs. The songs were initially composed as gifts for friends and family before Stevens decided to archive them in this way.

The album's one brand-new song is out now and addresses the idea of remorse and getting better. Stevens recently returned to performing live after eight years away, having made a surprise appearance during Meg Lui’s show in Kingston, New York, back in September. He was a co-producer on her record from this year, and it was released by his own Asthmatic Kitty label. The break was necessitated by a diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome, after which Stevens had to re-learn how to walk. His last studio album of new material was 2023's Javelin, which we rated 10/10.