featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
Christmas 2020
Scott Foley, purveyor of tinsel
We shall find peace
We shall hear angels
We shall see the sky
Sparkling with diamonds
- Anton Chekhov
Good holiday music is just good music. I try every year to devote one Episode per year to the stuff. Even though nearly everything on this year's ROUTES-cast is a debut (D), you might be surprised how much other new seasonal music I left off. Every year is a continuous crate-dive, a hope-fueled search for all that is new and shareable and holiday-focused in our kind of music.
There are bloggers who have devoted years of their work to the phenomenon of holiday music, and it's true that much of it is just awful. But when it's good, it kindles something in my heart in a way that everyday music doesn't. In my digital crate-dives the other day, I came across one of those flash mob videos. Starting with a lone cellist in a town square, then joined by violas and violins, bassoon and oboe, then a hearty chorale. Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" swelled from the square as passersby pointed their phones and maybe stopped for just a moment on their way from here to there. Cue the timpani. Nothing especially unusual - there are countless similar flash mob videos, each highlighting the dawning awareness that settles upon the crowd of witnesses like a blessing.
Beyond remarking just how many people reacted to the moment with their phones, my takeaway here was how rare and fleeting joy can be when it chooses us. Joy isn't a state of being, but a momentary wave. For us, music might be the catalyst for that uplift. During these dark months and short days, it might be music that coaxes us out of our emotional hibernation. For me, music is an essential factor in both the insular reflection and the outward-facing joy that I require to make the holidays meaningful.
Which isn't to say that Southern Culture on the Skids' new "Surfing on Christmas" is anything like Beethoven's rapturous "Ode to Joy". But if you are able to find a handful of tracks from this Episode's ROUTES-cast that kindle something genuine in your heart, hold onto that warmth. Keep them close. You never know when you might need them.
- Pearl Charles, "Christmas Must Be Tonight" single (Kanine, 20) D
- Grant-Lee Phillips, "Winterglow" Yuletide (Yep Roc, 20) D
- Matt Woods, "Wake Me On Christmas" single (Lonely Ones, 20) D
- Shannon LaBrie, "A Joyful Noise" single (Moraine, 20) D
- 40 Acre Mule, "Big Man's Back in Town" single (4AM, 20) D
- Sierra Ferrell, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" single (Rounder, 20) D
- Texas Gentlemen, "Christmas With You" Christmas Soul (New West, 20) D
- Southern Culture on the Skids, "Surfing On Christmas" single (Kudzu, 20) D
- Sharon Van Etten, "Blue Christmas" single (Jagjaguwar, 20) D
- Andrew Bird, "Souvenirs" HARK! (Wegawam, 20)
- McCarthy Trenching, "Christmas Song" Calamity Drenching (Team Love, 06)
- Calexico, "Seasonal Shift" Seasonal Shift (Anti, 20)
- Margo Price, "River" single (Loma Vista, 20) D
- Matt Nathanson, "Little Drummer Boy (feat. Donovan Woods)" Farewell December (Acrobat, 20) D
- Infamous Stringdusters, "Christmas is Coming" Dust the Halls (American Vibes, 20) D
- Kelly Finnigan, "Just One Kiss" A Joyful Sound (Colemine, 20) D
- Julien Baker, "A Dreamer's Holiday" Spotify Singles: Holiday Collection (Spotify, 20)
- Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, "Winter Wonderland" single (Yep Roc, 20) D
- Purple Mountains, "Snow is Falling in Manhattan" Purple Mountains (Drag City 19)
- Ruston Kelly, "O Holy Night" single (Spotify, 20) D
- Phoebe Bridgers, "If We Make It To December" single (Dead Oceans, 20) D
- White Buffalo, "Christmas Eve" single (Unison, 20) D
- Nicki Bluhm, "Someday at Christmas" Buon Natale (Little Knickers, 20) D
- Leeroy Stagger, "Christmas Carol" single (Tonic, 20) D
- Ingrid Andress, "Christmas Always Finds Me" single (Warner, 20) D
^ Murder by Death, "Holiday Road" Lonesome Holiday (Tentshow, 20)
- Tami Neilson, "Pretty Paper" single (Outside, 20) D
- Nicole Atkins, "Every Single Christmas" single (Atkins, 20) D
- Steve Earle & Allison Moorer, "Nothing But a Child" To: Kate - a Benefit for Kate's Sake (Warner, 05)
- Lera Lynn, "Love One Another" Love One Another EP (Lera Lynn, 20) D
Among 2020's most worthy seasonal projects is Allison Moorer's Five Holiday Favorites, a beautiful EP of traditionals that's available only on Bandcamp. Other EPs that struck a chord with me came from Lera Lynn, whose Love One Another comes on the heels of October's On My Own. In the spirit of Aimee Mann, she sings on the title original: Suddenly everything's changed / There's more time to sit and watch the rain / More need to be less estranged / From yourself and all you have gained / At least for now. See also Nicki Bluhm's excellently diverse Buon Natale EP and Yuletide from Grant-Lee Phillips.
The season's strongest full-lengths start with Calexico's Seasonal Shift, which is wider-ranging than their usual records. Burns and Convertino collaborate with Nick Urata of Devotchka on a take on Tom Petty's "Christmas All Over Again", as well as working with Gaby Moreno, Tuareg guitarist Bombino and others. "Hear the Bells" is one of the year's best originals, and their even some good natured humor on the title cut: Bring your friends over / They can stand in the corner / And hold their breath / Join in the family's dysfunctionality / Shining at its best. You'll also want to look into Andrew Bird's HARK!, originally a 2019 EP but expanded here for a classy full-length survey with whistling aplenty. Bird covers less-traveled paths on tunes by John Prine, the Handsome Family, John Cale and more.
But nobody expected a full-length holiday CD from Murder by Death. And even if it was on your wish list, there's a good chance you wouldn't expect something so listenably traditional from the Louisville, KY outfit. Built around vocalist and instrumentalist Adam Turla and cellist Sarah Balliet, they've released eight records beginning with 2002's Like the Exorcist But More Breakdancing. Their product has become more polished and more focused over the years (they've termed it whiskey devil music), but Murder by Death have not strayed far from their gothic folk roots. The new Lonesome Holiday collection stays true to their sound, even as it sometimes surprises with its bold elegance.
The album's more traditional moments ("I'll Be Home For Christmas", "Blue Christmas", even "O Holy Night") showcase Turla's mannered baritone alongside strings, brushed drums and Balliet's cello. With touches of Nick Lowe and David Eugene Edwards, the songs wouldn't be especially out of place on a more traditional playlist. "Woodshed" is a narrative track, one of two originals. The remaining cuts feature covers of less familiar pieces by Huey Piano Smith, Squirrel Nut Zippers and even James Brown. For my money, the most successful covers are Murder by Death's sweet run through Lyndsey Buckingham's "Holiday Road" and their spirited version of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", replete with bells and backing chorus.
Like most of the beter Christmas faire, Lonesome Holiday doesn't simply portray Murder by Death dressed in an ill-fitting Santa suit. It still sounds like a MbD project, albeit their most good spirited collection to date. It's my favorite seasonal record of 2020.
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