Bright Eyes' Christmas Album begins with a piano, flute, ambient noise, and musical saw-driven version of "Away in a Manger," helping weed out casual Christmas music enjoyers, but all too tempting for the most devout of Conor Oberst's disciples, who originally learned that the warmth of the holiday season is trumped only by its potential for melancholy back in 2002 with the original Saddle Creek release. Oberst and a small army of friends at his house proceed to jamboree through Christmas classics like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," and "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem," Holiday cheer, when delivered with Oberst's trademark tremble, sounds more like a lament than it does hymns of ecclesiastical joy. But the spirited listener will find that the fragile, homespun, and somewhat blinkered vibe that permeates the album sets itself apart from the bog-standard, less sonically humble offerings of the holidays, and, both strangely and satisfyingly, is probably more aligned with the true spirit of the season.
Label: |
Dead Oceans – DOC287, Dead Oceans – DOC287LP-C1 |
---|---|
Series: |
Vinyl Me, Please. Exclusive Pressing |
Format: |
Vinyl, LP, Album, Club Edition, Limited Edition, Numbered, Reissue, Blue [Seafoam Wave] |
Country: |
US |
Released: |
Oct 2022 |
Genre: |
Rock |
Style: |
Acoustic, Lo-Fi, Indie Rock, Holiday |
A1 | Away In A Manger
Written-By – Traditional
|
|
A2 | Blue Christmas
Written-By – Billy Hayes, Jay Johnson
|
|
A3 | Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem
Written-By – Traditional
|
|
A4 | God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Written-By – Traditional
|
|
A5 | The First Noel
Written-By – Traditional
|
|
A6 | Little Drummer Boy
Written-By – Harry Simeone, Henry Onorati, Katherine K. Davis
|
|
A7 | White Christmas
Written-By – Irving Berlin
|
|
B8 | Silent Night
Written-By – Traditional
|
|
B9 | Silver Bells
Written-By – Jay Livingston, Ray Evans
|
|
B10 | Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas | |
B11 | The Night Before Christmas |