Hi All!

So I am putting up my albums for December a bit early this month as I have included the two Christmas albums I have been loving and thought it made more sense for people to see what they are before it’s Christmas

There won’t be a made me smile this week, not because I haven’t been smiling but because I have this to put up and I’m currently visiting lovely family and trying to muck around with transfering photos is a bit fussy. Next week i’ll just do another double post.  Anyway here are some of my favorite albums of the month.

1. Christmas Classics

This is my favorite Christmas album at the moment as it is full of a huge number of Christmas songs by Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole  all of whom I could listen to for hours on end. Their jazzy renditions of a bunch of classic Christmas tunes are fun and catchy without being annoying (which is my usual response to Christmas CD’s). The only thing weird about the album is that their are a couple of songs that are featured more than once (sung by the 3 artists). Other than that this is the perfect Christmas album for me and the only one I could play year round (although I won’t haha).

Songs you should go listen to: Have yourself a merry little Christmas (Ella Fitzgerald), O’Holy Night (Nat King Cole), The little boy that Santa Claus forgot (Nat King Cole) and White Christmas (Ella Fitzgerald)

2. Michael Buble: Christmas

So I think everyone and their Mum loves this Christmas album and its always hard to resist the seductive, sillky smooth voice of Buble and he does some lovely Christmas classics that are very easy on the ears 😉 Not as amazing as my first choice but one that I would happily listen to over the Christmas period.

Songs you should go listen to: All I want for Christmas is you, Ave Maria, Blue Christmas and It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

3. Of Monsters and Men: My Head is an Animal

Okay so I do like listening to non-Christmas music during December as well and this album has been a sure but sudden favorite. After listening to it by accident on Spotify I was obsessed and since then the album is usually played through at least once each day. The first time I heard them was actually on an advert and I had always loved the snippet of song so I was very pleased to come across the album. They are a 5 piece band from Iceland of all places that seem to be getting a lot of well-deserved attention in the music world. The album falls in to the alternative/indie/pop/folk genre but they have a very clear sound that makes them pretty recognizable. I can’t get enough of the loud/quiet contrasts in their songs and the great female/male combinations in the vocals. As usual I find music hard to describe so just go give them a listen on Youtube or Spotify!

Songs you should go listen to: All of them. But if I have to choose a few – Dirty paws, Kings and Lionheart, From Finner and Love, love, love.

4. Birdy (Birdy)

Last up is my most recent find after hearing her cover of Skinny Love by Bon Iver on Youtube (an incredibly beautiful cover I might add) – a 16 yr old with an incredible voice who could take original songs and transform them into something delicate, soft and full of emotion. So far as I know most of the songs on the album are covers but this doesn’t diminish the quality of this album at all that is carefully stripped down to the very evocative and haunting piano chords that allow Birdy’s pure and beautiful vocals to soar through a variety of excellent songs.

Songs you should go listen to: 1901, Skinny Love, White Winter Hymnal and Shelter (my absolute favorite, an excellent cover of The XX)

So there are my picks for the music of December. If I am missing out on any great Christmas albums please let me know!

Today is Christmas Eve here in New Zealand and I hope that whereever you are and whatever you choose to celebrate everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday season

xx