Holiday albums usually bore us to tears. Sure, we have our go-to picks from the likes of Motown, RuPaul and those awesome punk-rock Christmas compilations, but usually we like to avoid the sappier offerings that sprout up around this time of year.
Thankfully, some new and interesting Christmas music has fallen into our holiday stockings to restore our faith in the genre. Here are a few recent holiday releases that are bringing us comfort and joy.
She & Him “A Very She & Him Christmas” Merge Records
She & Him, the indie-folk duo featuring actor and singer Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, does Christmas music well on their holiday-themed album. The laid-back, retro and sparse renditions of Christmas classics harken back to the ’50s and ’60s early rock of Elvis and Buddy Holly, with their own flair and style. Other songs like “Christmas Wish” get pleasantly ethereal in their sound.
This is the kind of Christmas music that you could put in rotation with unobtrusive holiday albums like “A Charlie Brown Christmas” by Vince Guaraldi Trio. Cool, without being too ironic and hipster-oriented, this album should be a welcome addition to anyone’s Christmas collection.
Various artists “Broadway’s Carols for a Cure Vol. 12” Rock-It Science Records
Even if it wasn’t for a good cause, with profits benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, this album is a huge holiday treat for the theatergoer on your holiday list. This double album features Christmas songs performed by the casts of a broad range of Broadway hits. We were surprised to see songs from more rock-oriented productions like “American Idiot,” “Addams Family” and “Rock of Ages,” but they fit well alongside contributions from “Jersey Boys,” “Wicked” and “Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles.”
Tracy Thorn “Tinsel and Lights” Merge Records
Thorn, singer for Everything But the Girl, delivers a beautifully lush alternative rock/shoegaze collection of Christmas music. The songs here run the gamut of somewhat somber (“Hard Candy Christmas” and “Like A Snowman”) to somewhat fun and playful (“Snow and Sun” and “Maybe This Christmas”). The cold electronic textures of “Taking Down the Tree” are a highlight, exuding a Eurythmics vibe.
For fans of artists like Everything But the Girl, Mazzy Star and Natalie Merchant, “Lights” is an exceptional album of holiday songs that does a good job of feeling traditional and very fresh at the same time.