Review: Sufjan Stevens – Songs for Christmas

Sufjan Stevens

Songs for Christmas

(Asthmatic Kitty)

I’ve rekindled my love for Christmas after having a child, choosing to reclaim it in the name of fun, away from the yoke of family guilt and over-spending, and this gargantuan collection of new holiday songs and retooled chestnuts from the ever prolific Sufjan Stevens is the perfect soundtrack for my holiday revolution. Like most Christmas albums there are the classics, like his tender almost haunting take on “Silent Night” but strewn among the 5 EP’s collected here are a number of classics, using his sense of baroque arrangement, sweet unassuming humor and penchant for sleigh bells to the hilt. Notable is “Get Behind Me, Santa!” While regrettably not having anything to do with the White Stripes musically, is totally charming and on par with some of the more over-the-top numbers on The Avalanche. The general sentiment among the 42 tracks here is perhaps captured best in “Hey Guys! It’s Christmastime!” his delicate whispering over a simple guitar melody, singing about snow and parks and quilts with an equal share of sweetness and melancholy. It would make any Grinch’s heart grow two sizes bigger with its delicacy and guileless charm.