Sufjan Stevens shares new single, "A Running Start" alongside a preview of forthcoming art book

Every sound heard on "A Running Start" is played by Stevens himself, with the exception of additional vocals Nedelle Torrisi, Hannah Cohen and Megan Lui.

"A Running Start" follows the trail of widely celebrated singles, "So You Are Tired", and the recently shared "Will Anybody Ever Love Me?", which precede Javelin – Stevens’ first solo album of songs since 2020’s The Ascension, and his first in full singer-songwriter mode since 2015’s Carrie & Lowell.

Javelin is accompanied by a 48-page book of art and essays all created by Stevens, including a series of meticulous collages, cut-up catalog fantasies, puff-paint word clouds, and iterative color fields. The ten short essays offer little glimpses into loves and losses that have shaped him, and, in turn, these songs.

Sufjan Stevens recently revealed his Guillian-Barre Syndrome diagnosis. "Last month I woke up one morning and couldn’t walk. My hands, arms and legs were numb and tingling and I had no strength, no feeling, no mobility. My brother drove me to the ER and after a series of tests—MRIs, EMGs, cat scans, X-rays, spinal taps (!), echo-cardiograms, etc.—the neurologists diagnosed me with an auto immune disorder called Guillian-Barre Syndrome," he explained, whilst noting that "luckily" there is a treatment for this disorder.