Happy Holidays, readers! This year’s annual Holiday Digest arrives just in time for the big day, and as always, surveys new seasonal releases to consider adding to your annual holiday rotations. To the surprise of nobody familiar with her original holiday classic, Trisha Yearwood wins Christmas music this year, but she’s joined by some other country peers in the album winner’s circle. Meanwhile, its the usual random splattering of artists in the individual tracks section, with Kylie Minogue, Christina Aguilera, Mickey Guyton…and Michael Bolton (!?) earning the highest marks.
Enjoy, and have a wonderful holiday season!
Albums
Trisha Yearwood- Christmastime (Gwendolyn)
The country great caps off what was already an excellent 2025 for her canon with this gorgeous gem, which returns her to the same orchestral settings of her 2018 jazz detour through the catalog of Frank Sinatra, and reunites her with iconic producer, Don Was. It should come as no surprise that her legendary voice sounds just as exquisite in this setting as it did seven years ago, and the varied song selection is precise and pristine. She gracefully covers Vince Guaraldi (the title track and luminous opener) and standards like “Blue Christmas”, “My Favorite Things”, and “Simple Gifts”. She mixes in some fun with a sly reading of “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch”, while bestowing some fresh new favorites for us in the snappy “Cool Yule”, the romantic “Merry Christmas, Valentine” (a co-write and duet with husband, Garth Brooks), and an immediate classic with Beth Nielsen Chapman’s “Years”, which deserves to become an year-round smash. The most rewarding and surprising choice however is an exalted version of the Gene Wilder/Willy Wonka treasure, “Pure Imagination”; an absolutely exquisite combination with Yearwood’s voice and Was and the symphony’s magical musical backdrop. Yearwood’s always been a staple in my family’s household at Christmas-time, thanks to her outstanding 1994 album, The Sweetest Gift. This solo sequel (she and Brooks did release a duets Christmas record in 2016) is an entirely different, but nonetheless tremendous compliment to that classic, and will be likewise joining it in seasonal rotation for many more decades to come.
Brad Paisley- Snow Globe Town (Mercury)
The veteran country superstar’s first full-length album in nearly a decade is a second volume of Christmas tunes following his first, 2006’s Brad Paisley Christmas. Similar to that first set, Snow Globe Town is a charming combination of seasonal staples like “Jingle Bell Rock, “The Christmas Song”, “The First Noel”, and “Santa Claus Is Coming Town”, supplemented with original offerings like “Counting Down the Days”, the title track, and “Last Year”, a duet with Kelleigh Bannen. Paisley’s amiable vocal chops, and especially his virtuosic electric guitar skills, are in prime form here, and the production offers a refreshing modern, amplified honky-tonk vibe, with dashes of rock & roll and bluegrass thrown in for good measure. His signature affinity for cornball comedy thankfully stays on the right-side of the tracks (he’s notorious for verging off into cringe-worthy Dad-joke territory more frequently than he should) and actually results in some of the most memorable highlights: “That Crazy Elf (On the Shelf)” and “Lit”. All in all, a solid and entertaining outing that will add plenty of fresh, down-home cheer to your holiday.
Old Crow Medicine Show- OCMS XMAS (Hartland)
Rosin up your other version of a Christmas bow and throw some sawdust down around the tree! The first holiday album from this venerable bluegrass troop is precisely the delightfully fiddlin’, twangin’, foot-stompin’, mountainous adventure you’d expect from them. Rustic, grassy throw-downs like the opening original, “Breaking Up Xmas”, the blisteringly boozy “Corn Whiskey Christmas”, the Celtic-leaning and sardonic “Krampus Night”, and the BR549/Chuck Mead-recalling “All About A Baby” will tempt even the grumpiest Scrooge of your Christmas gathering to try a do-si-do under the lights. Meanwhile, they insert ravenous, eggnog-fueled energy into a classic like “Holly Jolly Christmas”, and provide a new anthem for those post-Christmas Day blues between the 25th and the 31st, with the rollicking “December 26”. But, OCMS XMAS is not all defined by the group’s fiery, up-tempo energy, though that would register few complaints. But like the rest of their catalog, they dutifully balance this atmosphere with more subdued, folk-tinged gems like “Jolly Man”, “North By Northeast”, the bittersweet “Grandpa’s Gone”, “Store Bought Christmas” (which feels like a modern take on the narrative of “If We Make It Through December”), and a graceful cover of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over”). A highly recommended stocking-stuffer for the roots music lover in your lives this Christmas!
Songs
Christina Aguilera- “Someday at Christmas” (Live from the Eiffel Tower) (5020)
The centerpiece from the live-from-Paris, quarter-century retrospective of her 2000 Christmas album, this performance contains all the elegance, power, and opulence you’d expect from such a concept. Refreshingly though, it is also well-balanced and offers the kind of vocal nuance and subtlety that can be so hard to come from with Xtina. It’s a sparkling performance the deserves to be a stirring reminder that she remains one of modern music’s most formidable–and least chatted about–powerhouses.
Bryan Adams & the Sheepdogs featuring Barenaked Ladies, Alessia Cara & Alan Doyle- “California Christmas” (Badams)
For all the star-power gathered and the sunny, spirited vibes promised in the title, it’s amazing how much this one falls short of taking flight. Adams’ weathered vocals could have surely benefited from more vocal support by the upteen singers credited as guests here, and the supposedly sun-kissed harmonies and backing vocals those guests do provide feel so utterly phoned-in. I was going to say that they should’ve committed to the Beach Boys vibes full-on, but upon listening to the “Little Saint Nick” cover that opens the source album, I can see why they didn’t bother. Unfortunately, nothing seems to pop or sparkle here, and it certainly should have given the talent and personalities it collects. Not to be a Grinch, but this performance just feels hollow all-around.
Jimmy Fallon and Carter Faith- “Ugly Sweater” (Republic)
The Tonight Show’s host returns to add to last year’s mixed stocking of entertaining and forgettable holiday performances. Like many of the highlights of that full-length release, the success of “Ugly Sweater” comes down to the strengths of Fallon’s guest. The supple presence of cult-favorite country chanteuse Carter Faith makes Jimmy’s put-on country-twang tolerable and charming, whereas it would have likely been groan-worthy on its own, and she also keeps things afloat when the song’s final stretch gets a bit long in the tooth. Nevertheless, this is a cozy treat when approached for what it is: harmless, escapism holiday humor.
Mickey Guyton and Michael Bolton- “Christmas Isn’t Christmas” (MCA)
An unexpected and very-welcomed surprise. We could have easily seen Guyton indulging in Bolton’s signature sound of overbearing power-balladry. What we get instead is a snappy, colorful, and impressive durable slice of Christmas pop. They play off each other well, creating a seamless blend of Guyton’s vibrant vocal warmth, and Bolton’s now-grizzled but ever golden pipes.
Jonas Brothers featuring Kenny G- “Coming Home This Christmas” (Republic)
Culled from the soundtrack to their new Disney Christmas movie, that sentence alone is probably more than sufficient to describe the make-up of this new Jonas single. But there’s no denying that it translates well to modern pop holiday playlists, thanks to the trio’s ever-potent charisma. The Kenny G solo is certainly not an essential ingredient, but delivers the kind of intentionally cheesy and charming moment that you saw coming from the moment you spotted his name in the credits.
Kylie Minogue- “XMAS” (Parlophone)
A new addition to the Kylie kingdom of Christmas bops via the tenth anniversary edition of Kylie Christmas, and it’s exactly the kind of glitzy, festive, and delightfully mindless slice of ear-candy you’d expect from Minogue. The silly sing-along chorus is a long-standing pop trope that rarely fails, and “XMAS” is another reminder as to how uniquely well Kylie’s brand of this music has aged along with her career trajectory through the decades.
Shovels & Rope featuring Wesley Schultz- “River” (Dualtone)
Upon my initial listen, I was admittedly a bit disappointed by the acceleration of the tempo on this timeless Joni Mitchell standard, but it didn’t take long for me to get on board with the trio’s gumption to put a subtly new take on the classic. A long-treasured song, paired with three of the very best modern roots revivalists in music today, and the odds that you’re going to end up with some magic are pretty high. Though, I’ll still be holding out for a version more loyal to the original, with Cary Ann Hearst’s inimitable voice singing lead.
Gwen Stefani- “Shake the Snow Globe” (Interscope)
As the 90s and Y2K-era’s queen of such edgy and ultra-specific sub-genres as ska-punk and the like, Gwen Stefani’s one of those voices that has always been a bit jarring to reimagine as a straight-up pop singer, not to mention in the Christmas realm. You just have to suspend an extra bit of believability when she tackles this territory. To her credit, she finds ways to maintain her unique vocal and stylistic authenticity through this undoubtedly catchy track from the new holiday film, Oh. What. Fun. Even if it’s still a bit weird to hear the woman behind “Hollaback Girl” singing about cinnamon rolls and sitting on Santa’s lap…
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