5 Festive Holiday Albums to Bring Yuletide Cheer
From the classic to the contemporary to the queer, our critic rounds up 2022's most notable holiday releases.
Familiarity is the fuel that keeps the holiday music industrial complex churning, but we all have our limits. Eventually, our holiday playlists start to feel stale, and even old favorites eventually stop releasing the same nostalgic dopamine rush they used to.
Although the mandatory festive offerings churned out every year are often forgotten as quickly as they are slapped together, there are a few every year that are worth notice, and this year is no exception. If you’re desperate to get into the spirit of the season and Mariah just isn’t cutting it for you the way she used to, consider one of these albums to liven things up, clear out a room or just bask in something a little different this year.
Alicia Keys, Santa Baby — Alicia Keys’ first foray into holiday music is more or less exactly what you would expect from the chart-topping singer — and that’s a good thing. Her magnetic vocals paired with lo-fi R&B arrangements make for a remarkably chilled-out listening experience.
Santa Baby is nicely balanced between standards with an Alicia-spin on them like “My Favorite Things and the titular “Santa Baby” on the one hand, and original tracks like “December Back 2 June” and “YOld Memories at Christmas,” songs that exude a comforting warmth and humanity. None of the songs particularly stand out from the others, but taken together, Santa Baby is cozy and classy in all the best ways.
Backstreet Boys, A Very Backstreet Christmas — In case you missed it, yes, ’90s heartthrobs the Backstreet Boys have reunited for, of all things, a holiday album. Having first announced it in 2019, a year that by now feels like a different era altogether, the amount of lead-up felt disproportionate for a genre of album that is usually an afterthought.
But aside from a borderline-offensive cover of “Last Christmas,” the fun they are having with it is at least somewhat infectious. A Very Backstreet Christmas stands out because of the strangeness and novelty of existence more than anything else, but beyond the hype, most of their covers are actually pretty solid. If you happen to be a child of the ’90s looking for a hit of boy band nostalgia, this one might be worth a listen.
Pentatonix, Holidays Around the World — It wouldn’t be Christmas without another holiday release from the world’s most famously tolerable a capella group. Their songs are reliable crowd-pleasers for a reason, and while their latest kick at the can doesn’t especially stand out from the rest of their holiday output, it is about as sturdy as one would expect. It won’t come as a shock that, as usual, they excel at covers but fumble a bit on their original songs, with Meghan Trainor, in particular, doing them no favors on “Kid on Christmas.” Aside from yet another regrettable Wham! cover, it’s a decent enough release from a group who has the holiday album down to something of a science.
Kadhja Bonet, California Holiday — Possibly the best holiday album to come out this year, this festive EP is profoundly ambivalent about the holidays themselves. The first such release from soul singer Kadhja Bonet expertly captures the conflicted and melancholy feelings that often accompany this time of year.
Bonet’s voice wavers between wistful and wary, but where she really shines is on the title track, a shimmering original number that tells the story of a relationship that seems doomed to break down indefinitely without ever quite failing completely. The exhaustion in her voice is unsettlingly familiar. While Bonet’s ode to holiday ennui might not be something you put on at the family Christmas party, it will strike a chord with anyone who has ever felt a little weird about celebrating the season.
Tom Goss, Big Fat Gay Ass Christmas — Sarah McLachlan’s enduring popularity notwithstanding, wallowing in the holiday blahs can get old after a while. Luckily, you won’t find them anywhere on Tom Goss’ brash and unapologetically gay Christmas EP. If song titles like “Ho Ho Homo” and “Put That Ass in Christmass” weren’t enough of a clue, this is an album by and for queers. Brilliantly hilarious as it is genuinely full of catchy, well-crafted hooks, Big Fat Gay Ass Christmas is an irreverent, earwormy celebration of everything that’s gay about the season, including the large, hairy man at the center of it all.
Stream these albums on your favorite service, or purchase on Amazon.com.
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