Have you heard? Sufjan Stevens has a new release.

Someone asked me why I hadn't blogged yet about the new Sufjan Stevens release, and my answer is, um, well, I've been too busy listening to it.

In fact, Sufjan doesn't just have one new volume of material... no, he has FIVE new volumes of material. And they're all Christmas albums.

They're new, that is, to those who haven't been tuning in through his fan club over the last few years. I've been listening to the first three volumes for a while now. But at last, they're packaged up with some new recordings, and they're a delightful holiday collection.

Having said that, do not expect these to sound like the carefully polished, visionary work that made Illinois the favorite album of many critics in 2005. It's actually quite a casual performance of holiday standards and a few quirky originals. There are a few tracks that make me stop what I'm doing to bask in the light of reverent worship, but most of the time this sounds like musicians from a church youth group getting together to play through their favorites.

So, as I said, it's a delightful collection, one that you'll enjoy pulling out during the holiday season and playing in the background during family gatherings. But don't expect it to blow you away like a proper Stevens' release. It's just not that kind of performance. It is exactly what the cover claims... a singalong.

Here's the track listing:

Hark!: Songs for Christmas, Vol. II (recorded December 2002)

Ding! Dong!: Songs for Christmas, Vol. III (recorded December 2003)

Joy: Songs for Christmas, Vol. IV (recorded December 2005)

Peace: Songs for Christmas, Vol. V (recorded June 2006)