I have said before that I’m not big on holiday songs; they rarely add much to the musical landscape. I know that isn’t really their purpose. I should lighten up a bit, which is something that I get told to do regularly.
Okay, here goes. If such music is all about fun and festivity, it doesn’t get any more fun or festive than “Here The Holidays Is,” the first of a brace of singles from El Drifte. It is upbeat, lyrically tongue-in-cheek, running on a ’50s crooner groove; in fact, given its wonderful vocal treatments and sheer infectiousness, it is hard to find even the slightest fault.
And I’m glad I took the time to dig in because below the seasonal sentiment and merry melodies, there is a more profound message running through. Religion, political outlook, colour, creed, or class are all irrelevant. Why don’t we just put our differences aside, and even if you are not celebrating a holy day, you can at least enter into the spirit of togetherness, empathy, friendship and of course, colorful jumpers.
“This Year (Wishing You Were Still Here)” is an even deeper song, a slow waltz around the theme of life going on when someone who should be sitting at the table with you is no longer here. And in a very different way from the previous song, this also gets to the heart of what such holidays are about. Tradition. A fixed point of the yearly cycle, which connects across the decades to all such previous gatherings. A time to be glad for good company, but also a time to fondly remember those who used to sit with us, laugh with us, sing with us, hug us, love us!
As I said at the start, I’m not a big fan of holiday songs, but with these two, El Drifte goes far beyond the usual fun and frolics. Sure, he delivers some of that, but there is so much more being said than merely jingle those bells and pull my cracker!
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