This Christmas – Lizzie Thomas (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

It had to happen sooner or later. The first Christmas album has landed with a thump and a jingle on my desk. But, to my great relief, it comes courtesy of Lizzie Thomas, an artist known for her exquisite jazz-soul originals and interpretations of the classics rather than the usual cheesy and silly seasonal fare. No, This Christmas is about as far away from that sort of thing as it is possible to get.

As the opening title track makes clear, this is serious, not to mention soulful, sultry and sensational stuff. All the seasonal imagery with more than enough inventiveness and sonic articulation to make these songs a new benchmark for the holiday sing-along.

“Christmastime is Here” gets a suitably bossa nova makeover thanks to Leandro Pellegrino‘s masterful and spacious guitar work. Thomas scats her way through Paul McCartney‘s “Wonderful Christmastime,” turning the jolly sing-along romp into something truly sophisticated. And, of course, there is room for the more traditional tunes—”Jingle Bells” and a beautifully ethereal take on “Star of Wonder.”

Here, Lizzie Thomas gives us the rarest of things: a Christmas album that you can play all year round. How cool is that?