The unthinkable has happened. Without warning or promotion, Sufjan Stevens has released his brand new All Delighted People EP this morning on Asthmatic Kitty.

I wasn’t even remotely prepared for this, but I’m delighted, to say the least. The album is available currently in digital format, with CD and vinyl formats to be released in December. You’ll also be able to download the album from iTunes and Amazon starting Monday.

Here’s Asthmatic Kitty’s write-up:

The EP, All Delighted People, is built around two different versions of Sufjan’s long-form epic ballad “All Delighted People,” a dramatic homage to the Apocalypse, existential ennui, and Paul Simon’s “Sounds of Silence.” Sounds delightful, yes! The song was originally workshopped (oh we hate making workshop a verb, but time is money!) on Sufjan’s previous tour in the fall of 2009. Other songs on the EP include the 17-minute guitar jam-for-single-mothers “Djohariah,” and the gothic piano ballad “The Owl and the Tanager,” a live-show mainstay (and Debbie Downer if you ask us; what’s it doing on a “Delighted” EP?). The full track list is available right here.

It’s a measly $5 for the download, so I highly recommend you support Sufjan and Asthmatic Kitty instead of waiting a day for some sucka to leak it.

I’m only three songs into the album’s 8 tracks I can say it’s definitely worth it. If you don’t believe me, feel free to sample all 8 songs on the website.

I’m so excited about this album that it nearly trumped the news I received earlier this morning from my sister and brother-in-law regarding the arrival of their newborn daughter, Tristan.

I know… it hasn’t even been 12 hours into the existence of my niece and I’m already a terrible uncle. But I’ll try to make up for it by buying her a copy of the EP when it comes out on vinyl in December.

And as reported earlier this month, Sufjan will hit the road next month with a date at Toronto’s Massey Hall on October 13th.