Sufjan Stevens has announced the release of his eighth solo studio album, The Ascension, which is set for release September 25 on Asthmatic Kitty Records. The follow-up to Carrie & Lowell comprises 15 new songs from the singer-songwriter and comes with a 16-page booklet of his drawings.
“America,” the album’s debut single, was also shared alongside a video filmed by Stevens. “America” was originally written during the sessions that produced 2015’s Carrie & Lowell, but later re-recorded. “I was dumbfounded by the song when I first wrote it,” Stevens said in a statement about the new song. “Because it felt vaguely mean-spirited and miles away from everything else on Carrie & Lowell. So I shelved it. But when I dug up the demo a few years later I was shocked by its prescience. I could no longer dismiss it as angry and glib. The song was clearly articulating something prophetic and true, even if I hadn’t been able to identify it at the time. That’s when I saw a clear path toward what I had to do next.”
Listen to “America” below:
The Ascension artwork & tracklist:
1. Make Me An Offer I Cannot Refuse
2. Run Away With Me
3. Video Game
4. Lamentations
5. Tell Me You Love Me
6. Die Happy
7. Ativan
8. Ursa Major
9. Landslide
10. Gilgamesh
11. Death Star
12. Goodbye To All That
13. Sugar
14. The Ascension
15. America