Wednesday, 27 November 2019

The Overtones - Christmas EP


28 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!

Buy Christmas (the EP, not the entire she-bang) here (Amazon GB)

Quite honestly I'm still dancing on the ceiling about the continued success of The Overtones. Christmas is a time for welcoming new friends and embracing old chums so it is right and proper that a good ol' fashioned Overtones Christmas continues by celebrating the contributions made by Jay James and shimmying along to the vocal delights of Darren, Mark and Mike. To commemorate their latest festive tour, the lads have released a brand new EP of songs. Called quite simply Christmas it is a selection of seasonal standards performed with the verve and panache that you have come to expect from the fabulously coiffed and sartorially splendid foursome. Through vibrant arrangements and heartfelt vocals, this will immerse you in the spirit of the most wonderful time of year and make you feel merry & bright...

The EP opens with Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) and was there ever a more heartfelt plea than this song delivers? With a grandiose orchestral score, complete with sassy horns and a finger click, jingle bell beat, it is a sumptuous instrumental which the boys excel at wrapping their vocals around. Each gets an individual moment full of poignant pathos, leading into gloriously textured harmonies that sends their message to the heavens. With a rather rollicking piano instrumental in the middle 8, this is Overtones magic from start to finish. And when their voices all converge for the final "baby, please come home", well, lets just say it is an invitation that would be very hard to say no to. Through the sadness it becomes joyful AND triumphant. They then give soulful vibes on This Christmas. The Donny Hathaway classic is one of the most expressive and visual songs of the season. The guys seem to channel their own memories of Christmas past to make this feel lovely and engaging. The "ba-ba-ba-ooo" harmonies and "shake a hand" ad-libs are as glittering as the fairy lights on the most ornate tree. The intricacy of the vocal arrangements should not be ignored - Darren, Jay, Mark and Mike make this look ever so easy but there is a complexity to their singing that reaps new rewards with each subsequent listen.

There is a rewind to September, their effusive summer hit that launched The Overtones 3.0 with ebullient cheer. It is a decadent, string drenched, horn laden disco groove that will have you on your feet and dancing like there's no tomorrow. The breathy cadence at the end of 'remember' and 'September' are a dreamy treat, like whipped cream melting into hot chocolate on a chilly winter morn. And can we just note the sass in Mark's voice that made me go just a little bit weak in the knees?! My soul is definitely singing and I'm walking in the air. Talking of Walking in The Air, it is the final track on this splendid collection. With haunting piano and simmering percussion, there is no falsetto here but Darren does breathe a new sense of mystical wonder into the lyrics as the song blossoms into life. Each of the gentlemen continue this vibe with nuanced insight - and when the chorus refrain kicks in, it is a spine tingling slice of pop ecstasy that casts a spell which lingers long after the music fades away. Here (as on all these tracks) you get the impression that the four are savouring the splendour of singing these songs and their enthusiasm is utterly contagious.

**Ghosts of Christmas past**
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