Christmas is almost upon us and today we mark the beginning of December with a gorgeous festive single from The Lighthouse And The Whaler. Here is the band’s folky take on the classic Christmas hymn ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’. At its heart, the song features a rhythmic strum and beautifully mournful vocal harmonies. There’s the aural sensation of falling snowflake piano notes as the song builds, growing subtly in layers towards a stirring ending. The accompanying lyric video is suitably sombre with the words presented over black and white footage of bleak wintry scenes. It’s as haunting as the song itself. The band say of the song: “‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’ is one of those songs that takes me back to Christmas when I was a kid. Sledding, tons of snow, presents under the tree, it has this instant ability to take me straight back to childhood. So it was the perfect song for us to recreate for the holidays.”
Formed in 2008 by Michael LoPresti, Ryan Walker and Mark Porostosky, the band’s breakthrough album was the well received ‘This is An Adventure’, which was followed by further singles, EPs and full-length records. Alongside these acclaimed releases, The Lighthouse And The Whaler have had their music feature on the likes of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘American Idol’, and the worldwide trailer for Disney’s ‘Christopher Robin’. Over the years, they have amassed a very impressive 52 million streams on Spotify alone.
In 2021, The Lighthouse And The Whaler released their most recent album ‘Talk’, full of songs that evoke an ethereal wonder and magic. LoPresti says of the record: “This is The Lighthouse And The Whaler that we always wanted it to be. There’s something there for you in the songs. There’s something you can find for yourself, no matter where you are in life, it came from a place where we were finding that for ourselves as well. We tried to make every single moment worth the listen, so that people will want to go on that journey again.” The Cleveland-based band are known for producing folk-pop on a grand, orchestral scale, rich with melody and dreamy, soaring vocals. ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’ is a fine, seasonal introduction to a band that is definitely worthy of further exploration. Enjoy.
