After debuting her pining, retro-styled indie pop on the Valentine's Day release
Please Be Mine in 2017,
Molly Burch presents a Christmas album for her third release. Though titled
The Molly Burch Christmas Album, it offers a selection of well-known and rarely recorded Christmas, New Year, and cold-weather tunes for the season as well as two original songs. Relying mostly on guitars with the occasional keyboards or rhythm section for its palette, it was recorded by
Jarvis Taveniere (
Woods,
Purple Mountains) and
Will Paterson (
Sleep Good). They and the Austin-based
Burch add a fitting amount of guitar twang to "Snowqueen of Texas," a
Mamas & the Papas deep cut that was devoid of any. Receiving the full country treatment is "Hard Candy Christmas" from
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Alongside Christmas classics like "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (here, a singalong with kids), they comprise a warm and wistful selection suitable for holiday gatherings, if a little more eclectic than your average seasonal set. However,
Burch shakes things up with her take on "Last Christmas" -- featuring actor/comedians
John Early and
Kate Berlant, who provide spoken and sung accompaniment -- and a wispy version of
ABBA's "Happy New Year" that remains relatively loyal to the original. A standout in terms of rarity and suitability for
Burch's smoky, longing delivery is the
Stax selection "What Do the Lonely Do at Christmas?," originally by
the Emotions. Other highlights include the singer's originals "New Year Love" and "Holiday Dreaming." The latter is a dreamy, bossa-inflected pop tune with trademark
Burch lyrics like "I just want your love/And I want to be the one/That you're also dreaming of."
The Molly Burch Christmas Album wraps up with a spare, piano-based "Auld Lang Syne" and a group-delivered final verse, inviting a sing-along to close a yearning but unusually playful collection from the torch-song stylist. ~ Marcy Donelson
