By Bridgette Jasinski
Staff Writer
If Jack Frost nipping at your nose makes you cringe, Santa coming down the chimney creeps you out, or if the holiday season turns you into a genuine Scrooge…I reassure you these voices of Christmas Present will make your heart grow three times this year.
When popular, YouTube-famous acapella group Pentatonix announced the release of their new holiday album, “That’s Christmas to Me”, I was concerned that the soft, glittering voices of the quintet might get shoveled into the growing mountain of dreadful holiday renditions.
While I am not going to deny my outstanding love for “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, annual remakes of holiday classics that worsen with time make it understandable why some people dislike its monotonous melodies.
Hoping that this album would be an exception to the usual, dingy remakes; I swept through Spotify, and came to the Pentatonix page. I couldn’t hold out any longer, I simply had to see if the always mellifluous group would come through. I allowed my finger to strike the play button…. and with that gentle, sweet voices of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, streamed through my ears.
Sadly, it was nothing impressive. I was shocked, and moderately disappointed in the usually majestic Pentatonix. With a huff I continued to listen, hoping that the next song would salvage this holiday album. But before wasting a beloved “skip”, the song changed. I found myself smiling and suddenly tapping my toe to the beat of what seemed like an entirely new song.
The Pentatonix had brilliantly fooled me, for the beginning 46 seconds of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” I feared “That’s Christmas to Me” would become just another measly Holiday remakes album. But on the contrary, the fresh, upbeat sounds of a whole new holiday sound rang through my ears.
The entire rest of the album gave me no fear; I wasn’t too shocked that the powerful voices of Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstie Maldonado, Avi Kaplan, and Kevin Olusolaike would pull off an amazing album.
“That’s Christmas to Me” will truly make you happy as Cyndi Lou Who, who is no more than two! With holiday songs such as: an entirely vocal “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” that leaves you wondering how the human voice can compose something so serene, a bubbly mash-up of “Winter Wonderland & Don’t Worry Be Happy”, and a gorgeously chilling rendition of “Let It Go” that makes you forget how bothersome it’s become, this album is tearing at the seams, even worse than Santa’s clothes, with holiday happiness!
“That’s Christmas to Me” is a truly unique, outstanding holiday album that finally puts other holiday remakes on the Naughty List,*ahem* (Mariah Carey). Just give it 46 seconds, and you too will feel the sweet, refreshing voices of Pentatonix running through you like the first sip of
ambrosial hot chocolate on a bitter winter day. This sugar-plum-sweet and candy-cane-fresh album may just make you feel like this winter is indeed the most wonderful time of the year.