Last year, Sufjan Stevens, Son Lux, and rapper Serengeti teamed up to release an EP, Beak & Claw, as s / s / s. Now the trio has changed its name to Sisyphus and is putting out a self-titled full length, Sisyphus, on March 18. The first single, “Calm It Down,” is below. Though the record was originally intended to be an EP, in an interview on Asthmatic Kitty’s website, Stevens said that the group stumbled upon a “wellspring” of “mad ideas,” so it just went for broke.
The whole interview’s over at the AK website, and is well worth a read for fans of Stevens, at least. Stevens explains the group’s name change by saying “s / s / s started to sound like the Nazi Schutzstaffel with a lisp,” and jests that guests on the albums include Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce, Jay Z, and Janet Jackson. He also says that making the record “felt more like professional wrestling” than recording, noting that at times being in the trio felt “physical and awkward and half-naked,” like they were “men in Speedos.”