My Morning Jacket – Happy Holiday! (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

My Morning Jacket – Happy Holiday! (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 32:34 minutes | 583 MB | Genre: Indie Rock, Christmas
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ATO RECORDS

Holiday greetings from My Morning Jacket! Includes the five tracks originally recorded in 2013 for the digital release, and three new songs recorded in 2023!

Some bands seem delighted to share the joy and good tidings of the last month of the year when they made a holiday album. And on the other hand, there’s My Morning Jacket. MMJ are just self-aware enough to see the wit in calling their Christmas album Happy Holiday! While Jim James is a fine singer, sweet and gentle angst rather than palpable joy is his default setting, and anyone looking for a set of upbeat seasonal tunes for their tree-trimming get together needs to know that’s not what MMJ have delivered with Happy Holiday! The album – an expanded version of a digital EP they first issued in 2013 – captures the group in a low key mood, with semi-acoustic arrangements, slow tempos, and a gentle touch dominating the performances. And the set list is short on happy sing-alongs like “Jingle Bells” or “Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer” – “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” typify the mood here, along with covers of Charles Brown’s classic blues number “Please Come Home For Christmas,” Dr. Dog’s “Oh My Christmas Tree,” and a downbeat but quite lovely take on the Band’s “Christmas Must Be Tonight.” Most bands would not open a Christmas album with a mournful original titled “Feeling Sorry,” but that’s how My Morning Jacket roll, and if you’re looking for something to go with curling up on the couch late at night with a cup of eggnog and and some bittersweet nostalgia, Happy Holiday! matches the mood perfectly. It’s not your typical holiday release, but it’s well executed and delivered with admirable heart and soul – My Morning Jacket set out to make a different sort of Christmas album that was entirely their own, and with Happy Holiday!, they succeed well on their own terms. – Mark Derming

Tracklist:
1. My Morning Jacket – Feelin Sorry (02:46)
2. My Morning Jacket – I’ll Be Home For Christmas (03:31)
3. My Morning Jacket – Welcome Home (Snowy Version) (03:42)
4. My Morning Jacket – Christmas Must Be Tonight (03:48)
5. My Morning Jacket – Please Come Home For Christmas (03:03)
6. My Morning Jacket – Oh My Christmas Tree (04:12)
7. My Morning Jacket – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (02:45)
8. My Morning Jacket – When The Bells Start Ringing (03:36)
9. My Morning Jacket – Wonderful (Snowy Version) (05:06)

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