Sufjan Stevens has released ‘On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)’, his first newly written Christmas song in nearly 15 years, alongside an official music video. The single arrives ahead of Worst Christmas Ever!, out on 6 November through Asthmatic Kitty Records.
The new song turns towards apology and forgiveness rather than treating the holiday as an uncomplicated celebration. In the label’s release announcement, Stevens presents it as a hope that people can become more understanding of one another.
Cover: promotional image supplied by Asthmatic Kitty Records.
A video made from 6,000 hand-painted stills
Stevens directed and edited the video, which he filmed and created with photographers Michael O’Neal and Cubby Graham. Its cast includes friends and neighbours, among them Meg Lui, Beccs, Olivia Busa and Stevens himself.
The label says the film draws inspiration from Leesa Allmond’s mixed-media animation. A total of 6,000 still images were printed, painted by Stevens, O’Neal, Graham and Hannah Cohen, then scanned again to produce the overlay effect. That laborious physical process gives the new release a handmade visual companion.
A new song inside a much larger Christmas archive
The compilation’s original announcement describes Worst Christmas Ever! as a single-album selection from Stevens’ extensive holiday catalogue. It combines fifteen previously released favourites with the new track, drawing on material collected in Songs for Christmas and Silver & Gold.
Those collections grew out of recordings Stevens initially made for friends and family. The first five volumes were gathered in 2006, with the next five following in 2012. The new compilation offers one route through that larger body of work, rather than presenting sixteen newly recorded songs.
Its sequence includes ‘Sister Winter’, ‘Christmas in the Room’ and ‘That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!’, alongside traditional titles. ‘On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)’ sits eighth in the running order.
Worst Christmas Ever! follows on Friday 6 November on vinyl, CD and cassette. The single and its official video are available now.
