Stylusboy
Christmas Light
Release Date: 11th December 2015
The latest release from indie folk songwriter Stylusboy is a Christmas treat that will well and truly bring heartwarming magic to anyone who gives the EP a listen over the festive period. The idea came about last Christmas after Stylusboy was asked to perform live at the BBC’s annual Coventry Cathedral Christmas Carol performance. After playing one of the tracks live on air, the idea for a collection of stunning Christmas songs was born and it was recorded in The Truffle Room Studio in the heart of his home including some collaborations with his wife Rebecca and their children. A beautiful and truly festive EP.
Opening track ‘Christmas Time’ (with the Mini Styluses) is a soft, lilting folk inspired Christmas track that puts us in the festive spirit instantly. Ebbing and flowing guitar chords open before subsiding making way for the mixture of vocals from the sweet harmonies of the Mini Styluses to the deeper and richer tone of Steve’s voice. A slightly jumping bass line sits alongside calming guitar and a padding drum while vocals speak of all the traditional things we do that makes a Christmas truly special. A stunning track and a wonderful one to open on.
There is a quicker musical delivery of jazzy sounds and bounding, joyous notes coming from the guitar and the drums on ‘Jingle Bells’. The wonderfully harmonious vocals sit well with the yo-yoing chords all laden with jubilance. This is a great take on the traditional Christmas carol that will absolutely put you in the mood for Christmas.
The perfectly cutesy ‘Oh Little Town’ is a lovely mid-point to the EP, it is a great track to sway along to featuring great, soft voices harmonising together and a great catchy melody. Folk sounds flow through this reimagining of a Christmas classic with fluid notes making for a serene sounding track.
‘Silent Night’ is probably the most famous of Christmas hymns therefore it is a pretty difficult song to make your own and not ruin people’s expectations of it, however I really think Steve has created a great version of his own here. By sticking to the soft notes and sparse sounds, he has maintained the beauty of the song but put his own spin on it with quietly strummed acoustic and a great mix of vocals that really take the floor here.
Final track, ‘Christmas Light’ and its intermittent piano keys open this before coming together to form a quite fragile tinkling refrain. The hushed and harmonious vocals sit so very well on top of the sporadic notes creating a truly stunning end to the EP.
You can check out ‘Christmas Time’ taken from the EP below:
To find out more about Stylusboy visit the website, the Facebook page, the Soundcloud page or you can follow on Twitter – @stylusboy
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