Saturday, 10 December 2022

Kristian Noel Pedersen - Saul McCartney's Magical Holiday Season


15 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!

Buy-stream Saul McCartney's Magical Holiday Season here (bandcamp)

Even though I only found out about Kristian Noel Pederson's commitment to providing new Christmas music every year, I found myself looking forward to seeing what holiday project he could come up with for 2022 (his 14th year of original Christmas music). He's taken a slightly different approach to bring cheer to your Yuletide this Christmas by imagining the season through the eyes of a fictional pop star (the titular Saul McCartney) and how this pop star from a sliding doors universe (who was part of a massive pop group in the 60s) is navigating launching a solo career. The interludes on the album expand the narrative but there are plenty of full songs that help advance Saul's festive journey...
  • An Ordinary Christmas ~ there's an aura of 70s pyschedelia to the shimmering up tempo tune, thanks to creative use of synths alongside the jingling bells, guitar and textured vocals. Love the addition of Steve Dyte on horns which give the song some Stop the Cavalry style pomp as Kristian sings of how charming an ordinary Christmas day can be. There are vivid, descriptive lyrics, a convivial choir and a glimmer of romantic potential that make this an enchanting opening number...
  • NFT Christmas Tree ~ subtitled Saul's Fever Dream and appropriately so, it is a in-your-face 80s synth track that is like Erasure were unleashed in the studio after too much high-sugar Egg Nog. It is surreal and high energy with a repetitive refrain of "I need an NFT Christmas Tree" being drilled into your brain. The synth loops are candy cane swirls that whirl around while the vocodor effects give this the necessary intensity to immerse you into Saul's subconscious.
  • Under The Christmas Lights With You ~ the race for the British Christmas Number One may be unique to our country, but if Saul McCartney had released this circa 1987 it would have definitely been a top five smash. There is a gorgeous vulnerability to the lyrics (particularly in the verses) that feels beautifully sincere - a lush juxtaposition with the vibrant chorus which is one melodic holiday wish that would be very hard to turn down. Love the Cliff Richard style spoken word in the middle (it is very Top Of The Pops Christmas Day special)...
  • I Hope It Snows Tonight (ft Juliana Eye) ~ I love a melancholic seasonal ballad, particularly one full of reminiscing tinged with a little bit of hope. Juliana is a wondrous vocal lead on this song, delivering every word with just the right amount of world weary resignation and sorrow at what has been lost by time and distance. She's a natural story teller and the instruments enhance her story rather than take over. The "I hope it snows tonight" refrain encapsulates so much that you could make a ten part romantic drama on Netflix just from the emotion Juliana's voice contains.
  • Driving Home for Christmas ~ not the Chris Rea standard; this is a far more jubilant affair which seems to embrace a world where the headlights of traffic are as sparkling as the lights on any tree. Saul is making the most of his time in the car because the destination is far more important than the journey. Rob Currie's rhythm section keeps the track moving at a peppy pace whilst that chorus is finger-click, sing-along manna from heaven. Definitely guaranteed to return Saul to the British charts as his Christmas come back hit!
I won't spoil how the story ends but there is an ending thanks to some instrumentals and spoken word narrative (Harlan Guthrie, who is uniformly excellent throughout). A fine addition to KDP's annual exploration of what Christmas means to he - and, if you haven't before, do reimmerse yourself in his impressive festive back catalogue...

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