Listen to Sufjan Stevens’ New Song “On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)”

Halloween may be barely behind us but Sufjan Stevens is already in the holiday spirit. His forthcoming compilation Worst Christmas Ever! compiles a mix of Yuletide standards done up Stevens style (“Angels We Have Heard on High (Christmas Infinity Voyage Version)”) and originals from his extensive holiday catalog.

Among them is a new track, “On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better),” which you can now listen to below. Worst Christmas Ever! is out November 6 via Asthmatic Kitty.

Stevens’ love for Christmas is well-documented; according to a statement, he has written and recorded more than 100 Christmas songs since 2001. Worst Christmas Ever.

features a number of tracks that previously appeared on his Songs for Christmas, Vols. 1-5 and the 2012 box set Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas, Vols. 6-10. Collaborators across the record include the National’s Aaron and Bryce Dessner, Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry, Cat Martino, Gabriel Kahane, and Casey Foubert.

Although Stevens hasn’t debuted a new album since 2023’s Javelin, he has remained active on the release front. In 2024, he shared a 20th anniversary reissue of Seven Swans.

Last year, he celebrated a decade of Carrie & Lowell with its own reissue, and released the song “Heaven Thunder” with Mina Tindle. In September, Stevens made a surprise appearance at Meg Lui’s show in Kingston, New York, marking his first public musical performance in over eight years, following a 2023 diagnosis with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves.

Correction: A previous version of this story mistakenly noted “On This Christmas” was a newly unearthed vault track Worst Christmas Ever!: 01 Silent Night 02 Put The Lights On The Tree 03 Holly Jolly Christmas 04 Christmas In The Room 05 It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (Christmas Infinity Voyage Version) 06 Sister Winter 07 Joy To The World 08 On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better) 09 Angels We Have Heard On High (Christmas Infinity Voyage Version) 10 Only At Christmas Time 11 It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (Christmas Unicorn Version) 12 That Was The Worst Christmas Ever.

13 Sleigh Ride 14 Justice Delivers Its Gift 15 Auld Lang Syne 16 Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages).

Sufjan Stevens, photo by Denny RenshawCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyHalloween may be barely behind us but Sufjan Stevens is already in the holiday spirit.

Correção: Uma versão anterior desta história anotou erroneamente que “On This Christmas” era uma faixa recém‑descoberta do vault.