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Nov 26, 2024 Web Exclusive By Andy Von Pip

Christmas music often gets a bad rap—and sometimes, it’s warranted. But to dismiss all such songs as simply cheesy or shallow overlooks the depth and poignant beauty that many seasonal tracks can offer. Amid wistful nostalgia and the flickering lights illuminating the long winter nights, some of the best Christmas songs evoke a mix of yearning and quiet melancholy. Dean Wareham (of Galaxie 500 and Luna) and Britta Phillips (also of Luna), along with Peter “Sonic Boom” Kember of Spacemen 3, understand this balance. Together, they’ve crafted a holiday album, A Peace of Us, perfectly capturing the season’s complex spirit.

Unlike the full-on exuberance and wall-of-sound style of say A Christmas Gift for You, this album meanders and drifts across the landscape like gently falling snow. There’s a wide range of interpretations on offer, from the John and Yoko classic “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”—a reminder that, 51 years on, it’s actually far from over—to lesser-known tracks like “Little Altar Boy,” which, despite being covered by everyone from Andy Williams to The Carpenters, isn’t exactly a seasonal staple. Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Paper” perfectly embodies the poignant nature of the season; it tells the tale of a man sitting alone on the sidewalk outside a department store, selling ribbons and paper—with the heartbreaking lyric, “and in the midst of the laughter, he cries.”

David Berman’s achingly beautiful “Snow Is Falling in Manhattan” is also featured, and while it doesn’t quite capture the devastating beauty of the original, it’s gratifying to see such a wonderful song finally getting the appreciation it deserves. The standout tracks, however, are the more country-tinged tunes, where Phillips takes the lead vocal and proves to be the perfect fit. Her sonorous voice shines on their cover of Brook Benton’s 1963 classic “You’re All I Want for Christmas” and the re-gendered “He’s Coming Home,” which they originally covered back in 2007. Fun festive fact: the latter was originally recorded by one of Jimi Hendrix’s favorite bands, The Fabulous Wailers, in 1965.

There are a couple of German versions thrown in for good measure, such as “Stille Nacht,” and rather than simply covering “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy,” made famous in 1977 by Bing Crosby and David Bowie, the trio instead use the 1964 German version “Der Trommelmann” by Marlene Dietrich as their starting point.

Essentially, this is a rather lovely, understated album that will probably appeal more to the Christmas music completist than the casual listener. But for those who appreciate a quieter, more reflective holiday soundtrack, it’s a beautifully crafted seasonal offering. (www.brittaphillips.com)

Author rating: 7.5/10