Sabrina Carpenter is a name most people will recognize — either as the Disney Channel star, or as the singer. Being only 24, it is impressive that she already has years of stardom. Not only has Carpenter seen success in TV and movies, but also in music. She has released multiple full length studio albums and EPs, including her latest Christmas themed effort, “Fruitcake.”
Christmas Music
Some people freak out at the slightest mention of Christmas music, especially those in the retail industry who are forced to listen to “Winter Wonderland Pop Hits!” from Black Friday to New Year’s Day.
Personally, I’m here for a good Christmas classic or two. I prefer the more unique takes, like Boris’ cover of “Last Christmas” by Wham!, or The Vandals‘ punk rock masterpiece “Oi To the World!” Carpenter’s newest EP isn’t quite as experimental or edgy as either of those. Still, it has a good variety of sounds, styles and pays homage to the songs we all grew up hearing.
Fruitcake
The short six-song EP comes out swinging with its best songs “A Nonsense Christmas,” “buy me presents” and “santa doesn’t know you like i do.”
These three songs are back to back to back bangers. They fully cement the realization that pop music is just good as other genres. They are festive and playful, romantic and raunchy, reminiscent but not entirely sad. The last three songs fit more into the sad part, especially “cindy lou who,” which trades the pop production for more sparse instrumentals. It turns into more of a ballad than anything else on the album.
The next song, “is it new years yet?,” is a pseudo anti-Christmas anthem. It evokes a feeling that we have all felt on a year where nothing went our way. You didn’t get what you wanted and the person you want to spend the day with is with someone else.
The last song is a pleasant, although rather haphazardly added in cover of “white xmas.” It isn’t bad by any means, but it doesn’t really seem necessary. Rearranging the tracks so the EP ended with “cindy lou who” may have worked out for the best.
Always Someone You Can Talk To
The 15-minute EP definitely does not overstay its welcome. It moves between songs fast enough to keep anyone interested if they aren’t feeling the previous one.
It hasn’t been a very festive season for me so far, but this EP got me back in the spirit. Since listening to it, I have gotten back into the Christmas music that would blast from the speakers of my childhood home. Songs like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s “Mr. Heatmiser,” Bad Religion’s album “Christmas Songs,” and the classic Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song.”
December is a hard time for a lot of people, myself included. Don’t forget that there is always someone looking out for you, someone you can talk to. Try not to dwell on the negatives and instead focus on the positives. If Christmas music isn’t your jam, throw on whatever your No. 1 Spotify Wrapped artist was and drone out the noise! It’s only one month after all.
