2016 NPR Tiny Desk Contest winner, Gaelynn Lea has been busy! Her lovely holiday album is available for pre-order now, and comes out on November 11th. I had the immense pleasure of reviewing it recently. Read on....
From the first jingle of the joyous tambourine, to the fading away of the last notes on the violin, Gaelynn Lea's holiday album "Deepest Darkness, Brightest Dawn" is bursting with beautiful arrangements of favored carols, spiced with fantastic fiddle goodness. Gaelynn truly shines on violin, and vocals with refreshing perspectives of the hauntingly familiar melodies of old. She has a lovely tone quality on the violin, and an excellent command of the looping and pedal effects. You can hear the love Gaelynn has for the holidays in her voice, as her vocals add beauty, and character to every track it is featured.
I greatly enjoyed the stylistic reverb and looping in which I imagined Gaelynn playing in the great hall of a castle on Winter's day with snow falling all around. The violin solos were some of my favorite parts of the album as it showcased Gaelynn's improvisational side, clearly borrowing from her years of playing and jamming on fiddle. The delicate additions of percussive instruments was tasteful, and perfectly nuanced the music without detracting from the lovely melodies. I found the album to be so soothing that I pre-ordered before I even had finished listening to the first track.
The fourteen track holiday album is a mix of instrumental only, and vocal tracks with solos and instrumental interludes. The album flows smoothly from one track to another nearly seamlessly. One can easily listen to this album over and over whilst decorating for the holidays, or preparing a feast, and never tire of it.
If you're the kind of person to listen to music while doing work, or writing (like myself), then this is a great one for that as well. It's also nice to just sit back and listen with your eyes closed on a rainy or snowy day. I already know I'm going to wear out this album come holiday time as it's right up my alley.
It is hard to pick a favorite track because the blend of traditional tunes with Gaelynn's unique style makes every track irresistible, but I am partial to Hark The Harold Angels Sing/Oh Come All Ye Faithful, In the Bleak Midwinter, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, and Carol Of The Bells.
"Deepest Darkness, Brightest Dawn" is available for Pre-Order here on Gaelynn's website and will be also available on November 11th via iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, CD Baby, and BandCamp. GO GET IT! IT ROCKS!!!