Tis the season to be jolly! Yes, Christmas is around, and the surge of holiday music that infuse us all with so much joy come flowing in from artists known and unknown. While many may flock towards the standard and timeless carols, or even the modern day staples like Mariah Carey, there’s a whole slew of artists who share the same love for the festive season embarking on their own journeys to develop songs that will live long in the holiday season. Sarah Reeves, a Nashville based pop artist, has released her own quaint Christmas record that has a constant spring in its step. It’s cosy, warm, and loaded with that festive joy that makes Christmas what it is. From the opening and titular track itself, Reeves immediately has you letting go of all your negativities and jumping into the spirit that you should relinquish yourself to be in.
There’s a bit of jazz on this record as well, immediately discernible in the more classy and flamboyant ‘Holly Jolly Christmas’. That confluence of modern and vintage makes ‘More the Merrier’ a uniquely enjoyable piece of Christmas music. It takes the modern melodies and vocal performances that a songstress like Reeves is able to exquisitely create with the more foundational and festive feeling arrangements that are so important and necessary for a Christmas record to really have you feeling the festivities in full flow.
Of course, there’s also the slower and more melancholic but hopeful records like ‘Sentimental’ on this album. It truly has the full gambit of Christmas and its sounds down to a tee. A soundtrack for the holidays that may be markedly different from the standards, but altogether important for a shift in the same. Feel that holiday magic!