Leave it up to Sufjan Stevens to get you in the holiday spirit early. Today, the singer-songwriter has shared his first Christmas song in nearly 15 years, ‘On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)’, which accompanies the announcement a new compilation called Worst Christmas Ever!, arriving November 6. Stevens also created the video for his loopy, poignant new tune alongside Michael O’Neal and Cubby Graham, utilizing six thousand stills hand-painted by Michael O’Neal, Cubby Graham, and Hannah Cohen. Check it out below.
“I love the idea of a Christmas apology,” Stevens said in a statement. “A holiday characterized by the giving and receiving of gifts might be made even better by the giving and receiving of forgiveness. ‘I’m sorry’ is the ultimate ice-breaker in a moment of conflict, contention, and misunderstanding. Let’s try to be better this year: more loving, forgiving, welcoming and reckoning. This song is a prayer – that we can all find a way to yield to the wisdom and understanding of forgiveness. I believe the world will find its way.”
Stevens has written and recorded more than 100 Christmas songs since 2001, according to a press release. Worst Christmas Ever! includes several tracks that previously appeared on the box sets Songs for Christmas and Silver & Gold. Among the collaborators across these songs are the National’s Aaron and Bryce Dessner, Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry, and Rosie Thomas.
Most recently, Stevens made his first public musical appearance in over eight years, playing piano during Meg Lui’s show at Tempo in Kingston, New York. (He co-produced Lui’s latest album, Instant Validation, and released it on his Asthmatic Kitty label.) Stevens’ last LP, Javelin, came out in 2023, the same year he revealed he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, which left him unable to walk.
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