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Podcast FeedCold December Night
New twists on holiday standards.
Artist: Kathleen Sloan
Album: Cold December Night
Rating: 9/10
Think Christmas, and you picture candy canes, egg nog and tinsel under the tree. But there is more than meets the eye (and the ear) than reindeer bells and Christmas cheer. With its understated elegance and eclectic sound, Cold December Night is the perfect companion to the crackling fireplace - or the yule log on TV, as the case may be. The result is the musical equivalent of hot cocoa; a warm, toasty album that comforts even the coldest souls who hear it.
Recorded in the artist's Los Angeles studio, Cold December Night is a smooth mix of strings and vocals that is both exquisite in its beauty and enjoyable to listen to. The opening track, a classical version of "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" is deceptive in its simplicity. Featuring classical violin and the warm voice of vocalist Alan Chang, it's faintly pleasant, Starbucks-approved sound lulls listeners in like a spiced latte on a cold winter's day. But there's more to be found on the record the traditional carols audiences have become used to.
Case in point: "I Saw Three Ships". With its relaxing jazz guitar and the David Gray-like vocals, it conjures more 90s era Sting than the Bing Crosby lullabies of old. On the flip side, Chang's bittersweet rendition of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" adds new depth to an otherwise lighthearted ode about a caribou who endures social exclusion at the hands of his jealous peers. Tying the 11-track album together is the virtuostic piano and violin skills of a bevy of backup artists and performers, creating a warm hearth of a record that will keep even the grumpiest in-law tapping their toes with glee.
Available via KathleenSloan.com, Cold December Night is a must have for any holiday occasion.
Born in an age of legwarmers, boomboxes, and MTV, John Winn still remembers a time when mixtapes were cool. The product of a musical family, from an early age he showed a precocious interest in rock 'n' roll. Finding the world of an ink-stained wretch much cooler, John traded his Fender guitar for a Bic pen, traveling the world interviewing musicians and non-musicians alike. His work has been featured in Racket magazine, Times Square.com, and Buzzy Multimedia, among others.
