Good news for Sufjan Stevens fans: a new Sufjan Stevens project is on the way. Bad news for Sufjan Stevens fans: it’s another quirky Christmas project. From the press release:
“Silver & Gold is more than just another Christmas album, but an ongoing exercise in theme and variation, an annual tradition that offers this songwriter a chance to experiment with fashion and technique without taking himself too seriously. Sufjan’s playful (yet purposeful) expedition through the superficial landscape of sugar plum fairies and marshmallow fluff has produced an exuberant musical account of “all things Christmas” in the pursuit of the sublime. What distinguishes this project from the glut of Christmas albums saturating the market today are Sufjan’s unguarded enthusiasm for the genre itself (the sense of freedom he shows in celebrating with reverence and rebellion) and the belief that Christmas music contains a multiplicity of sacred and secular significance (from Baby Jesus to Babes in Toyland) that is ultimately ours for the taking. It’s safe to say that no one has taken it further than Sufjan, for better and for worse.”
For a taste of what to expect, check out “Christmas Unicorn” below.
The CD Boxset includes:
1. Five CD EPs
2. Christmas stickers
3. Temporary tattoos (non-toxic & safe for children)
4. A paper ornament (self-assembly with directions)
5. An apocalyptic pull-out poster
6. Song lyrics and chord charts (sing along with your friends and enemies)
7. Hallucinogenic photographs and psychedelic graphic design (by Sufjan Stevens, drug-free since 1975)
8. Extensive liner notes (introductory salutations and an essay on the Christmas tree by Sufjan Stevens, and a few theological words on the End Times by Pastor Vito Aiuto)
The vinyl boxset includes:
1. Five EPs on 6 vinyl discs
2. Christmas stickers
3. Temporary tattoos
4. A paper ornament
5. A 40-page Christmas songbook with vocal and piano reductions
6. A Christmas coloring book
7. Hallucinogenic photographs and psychedelic graphic design
8. Extensive liner notes
Musical collaborators and contributors to this album include: Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Richard Reed Parry, Clara Claus, Olivier Manchon, Marla Hansen, Raymond Byron Raposa, Gabriel Kahane, Daniel, Elin, Lilly & Ida Smith, C.J. Camerieri, James McAlister, Casey Foubert, David Stith, Alex Sopp, Vesper Stamper, Cat Martino, Sayard Egan, Rosie Thomas, Sonya Hofer, Sebastian Krueger, Nathan Lithgow, and Brian Wolfe.
