Jazz/pop songstress Ala.Ni released her new holiday music collection, the simply titled Christmas: Vol. 2 Friday. Having come more than two years after the release of her first Christmas music compilation, Christmas: Vol. 1, this five-song collection is unquestionably the most unique of this year’s new holiday music releases so far. That is because it is not the happy-happy-joy-joy record that are most seasonal fare that fill the airwaves and store shelves. It is even a stark contrast to its own predecessor in the mood that it sets through its songs. Comments in an interview by Alan.Ni ahead of the EP’s release explain that change in the mood and presentation, stating, “I won’t lie. I do struggle with Christmas. The over consuming part of it is what I don’t like, but the coming together of family, luxurious food and fun times always sucks me in. I try not to get caught up in the Christmas hysteria but I always end up surrendering, to some degree, in the end.” That mix of thoughts and emotions definitely comes through in the songs that make up this record. It is a mindset that will not resonate with everyone, though there are those who will appreciate those comments and how she translates them through each of the songs. The EP’s opener, ‘Christmas Cheer’ is a prime example of what will make the EP relatable for so many listeners. It will be discussed shortly. The EP’s lead single, ‘You Broke My Heart (On Christmas Eve),’ is another example of what makes Ala.Ni’s new record stand out. It will be addressed a little later. While Ala.Ni exhibits a lot of cynicism and less than happy sense in her new holiday music collection, it is not all negative, as its closer, ‘Now I Believe,’ shows. This song will also be examined later. Each song noted is important in its own way to the whole of Christmas: Vol. 2. When these songs are considered along with the record’s two covers – that of Joni Mitchell’s ‘River’ and the Elvis hit, ‘Blue Christmas’ – the whole becomes a presentation that is the most intriguing holiday music collection to be released this year.
Christmas: Vol. 2, the brand-new EP from jazz/pop songstress Ala.Ni, is without doubt the most unique of this year’s new holiday music collections released so far. That is because it is so unlike all of the other holiday music fare that fill the stores’ shelves and the airwaves. This is made evident through each of its songs. The songs – five in all – serve well to illustrate the sentiment made comments recently made by Ala.Ni about the holiday season. The EP opens with the relatively cynical ‘Christmas Cheer,’ which despite its positive sound is actually quite the opposite. This is clear as she sings at one point, “The only good/Is all the food/I can eat that any time of year/Festive chiming/I don’t want to hear/Carols rhyming/Angels sing/I’m well aware.” She even comments on the sense that we have to “spend, spend spend/Like we don’t care.” That is a pretty straight forward indictment of the season and consumerism of which she spoke. She even goes so far to say, “I’m happy to pretend/It’s not December/Glad that Christmas comes but once a year.” People hate hearing such sentiment, in general but there are those who will agree with her sentiment. To that end, it definitely is not a song for everyone, but still rings true in its own right with those other noted listeners.
‘Christmas Cheer’ is but one of the songs that makes Ala.Ni’s new EP stand out. The record’s lead single, ‘You Broke My Heart (On Christmas Eve),’ also makes the record stand out. The song’s musical arrangement is everything that audiences have come to expect from the singer. But that softness is a false cover of sorts (once again) against the song’s less than happy lyrical content. Ala.Ni sings, “How could you deceive me/Even as we sparkled off the tree” right in the song’s lead verse. Later she begs “don’t let me throw the holiday away” before telling whatever guy broke her heart that she’ll smash up his Rolex present. Simply put this is not a happy record for the most part, as this song makes clear. Things are not all down, though. The 16-minute collection closes out with that positive sentiment that finally takes her over in the form of ‘Now I Believe.’
‘Now I Believe’ is about the only song on this record that will find wide appeal because it is her finally giving in, as she noted in her comments. In this case, the happiness comes in “the moment I saw you/On that very special night.” In other words, this song is a love song that finds her being happy because she is suddenly in love all over again. Seeing that “Mr. Right” figure suddenly makes her believe in Santa and the elves again as the man “asked me for a dance/Under the mistletoe”. It is a bit schmaltzy, but considering the cynicism and negative views she delivers in so much of the rest of the record, this is sure to be a song listeners will find a welcome change and finale. It is the kind of song that one would expect from one of Hallmark Channel’s endless sea of Christmas movies, to be honest but again there are lots of people who want that happy dream. To that end, it works with the other, less positive works featured throughout the record, to make the whole definitely a unique overall presentation that deserves to be heard at least once.
Christmas Vol. 2, the new holiday music compilation from Ala.Ni, is a presentation that audiences will agree across the board is the most unique of the year’s new holiday music releases. That is proven from the record’s opening to its end. The songs largely echo Ala.Ni’s sentiment about this time of year, as the songs examined show. Interestingly enough, the songs are sequenced in fashion that they directly echo her comments, too, going from cynical to happy by record’s end. All things considered the EP is definitely an intriguing presentation that is not for everyone.
Christmas Vol. 2 is available now. More information on the EP is available along with all of Ala.Ni’s latest news at:
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