Just like a selection box of chocolates there’s something here for everyone – at least until someone eats all the toffee hazelnuts, they are meant to be for sharing. Oh, never mind. Luckily these are treats that can be repeated as often as you wish – there’s a classy classic cover, there’s a twist on a folk classic, there’s rowdy drunkenness and wistful reflection. But let’s start with a song about this lovely year we’ve just had.
Creature Comfort seem to have been reading our collective minds with their new release ‘Christmas in Quarantine‘, which may just be the most perfect Covid Christmas song yet. Cards done, tree with no presents, no snow…but at least there’s mistletoe and someone to kiss under it.
Margo Price – who has already produced some of the year’s best music – brings us her take on the Joni Mitchell classic ‘River‘. Straight from Nashville.
Hal Cannon of 3hattrio is working on some solo material which will emerge next year but before that here’s a take on a familiar not-Christmas song – but with – you’ve guessed it – a Christmas twist. Works for us!
Dallas Moore takes a whisky and dive bar approach to Christmas “doing the rounds“, just like Santa – only in his case it is bar to bar rather than down every chimney. He’s guaranteed additional points on the good list by name-checking the album of the year.
And if that’s a little too upbeat and, dare we say it, dancey – then pour another of your favourite tipple, sit back and relax with Grant-Lee Phillips‘ ‘Take me back to Toyland.’ It’s from the new festive EP ‘Yuletide‘ – that’s the true winter festival spirit!
And there’s just room to slip in a downbeat Christmas ballad, this one’s a duet from Sweetlove and Wes Hutchinson. And it seems that there’s an enforced separation (please, no-one say “isolating“) which means the yuletide won’t be the same: it’s just not “Christmas Without You.”
