Track listing: Here the Holidays Is, This Year (Wishing You Were Still Here)

I think every artist should release a holiday album. Be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or a non-specific wintertime / general excitement over the anticipation of the new year--holiday songs give artists a reason to annually promote a particular release. When else does an artist get to do that? Maybe on the 10th anniversary of a release? But even then, that's only if its initial release was noteworthy. So when Minneapolis-turned-Austin-turned-back-to-Minneapolis Alt Country Rocker El Drifte dropped his dual-single El Drifte Sings His Holiday Songs record last month, folks from the 311 Club to The White Horse rejoiced!

"Here the Holidays Is" is the leadoff track, described by El Drifte himself as "a heapin' helpin' of jingle bell bliss! An up-tempo, super catchy, fun, joyful, snappy number that's guaranteed to get stuck in your head like a 1960's commercial jingle." This is what I was talkin' about! It's an every-holiday anthem, simply spreading cheer regardless of your socio-political-religious affiliations. "A bop" as the kids say these days. You just can't listen without channeling your own fun memories of this time of year. Maybe your highlight was decorating cookies or cruisin' the Mall of America as a teenager; or perhaps seein' family or leaning a little to hard on Grandma's fiesty egg nog. Whatever the case, this tune is for you.

The record's second track is "This Year (Wishing You Were Still Here)," a classic Country ballad that pulls on your heartstrings with its yearning lyrics and gorgeous vocal harmonies. The acoustic guitar is gentle, the melody familiar. Takes me back to my childhood, listening to Freddy Fender pour his heart out from the tiny speakers in my family's ol' 1970 AMC Rebel. A song of loss, "The Year" explores the passing of a loved one--the hardest variety of heartbreak to deal with especially at this point in the calendar. The scene is set during Christmas but El Drifte doesn't tie it to the religious holiday. It's a song of memories of moments, those cherished memories we all treasure in our hearts and minds.

While much of El Drifte's catalog is a hoot'n hollerin', rip roarin' good time, he's sincerely channeled musicality, memories, and emotion into this twin single that you can pull out for years to come. Hopefully this year you'll get to make some of the memories both you and your loved ones can recall throughout the holidays still many moons away. Check out this record, to be sure, but also take a gander at El Drifte's entire discography. You can find him any time at eldriftemusic.com.