Posted by Sufjan Stevens will release a new holiday album, Worst Christmas Ever!, on November 6th. The songwriter’s festive releases have become a true staple of the season, with Stevens having embarked on regular, highly anticipated Yuletide recording sprees since 2001.
Over the years, he has amassed an enchanting catalogue of Christmas favourites. Asthmatic Kitty famously collated the first five volumes as Songs for Christmas, Vols. 1-5 in 2006, followed in 2012 by Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas, Vols. 6-10, which compiled five more EPs recorded between 2006 and 2010.
Worst Christmas Ever! serves as a further exploration of his extensive festive catalogue. The collection features 15 Sufjan essentials drawn from his previous recordings, in addition to the previously unheard track, ‘On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)’.
The tracklisting includes a slew of fan favourites and deep cuts, such as ‘Sister Winter’, ‘Put The Lights On The Tree’, ‘Only At Christmas Time’, and the title track, ‘That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!’. The album also includes ‘Justice Delivers Its Gift’—Sufjan’s ecclesiastical take on the Burl Ives classic—alongside ‘Silver & Gold’, ‘Christmas In The Room’, ‘Silent Night’, and more.
The rolling guest cast for the project includes several revered friends, notably Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National, Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire, Cat Martino, Gabriel Kahane, Casey Foubert, James McAlister, Rosie Thomas, Marla Hansen, Olivier Manchon, Sebastian Krueger, and Daniel, Elin, Lilly, and Ida Smith of Danielson.
Pre-order Worst Christmas Ever! here.
Check out a teaser video below.
Photo Credit: Denny Renshaw