Tuesday, 2 December 2025

Natalie Jane - wishlist


23 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!

Buy-stream wishlist here (external link)

The benefit of being so obsessed with Christmas music is that you come along lots of artists who, of course, sing all types of songs throughout the year - but you may not have had them come onto your radar. Discovering people via their seasonal songs not only broadens my repertoire of holiday jingles but also provides me with lots of new music to investigate in the new year as I dive into their back catalogue. One such artist is Natalie Jane, whose wishlist EP is all you might need this Yuletide season. Across five songs (old and new) she lets the listener into her innermost thoughts around the most wonderful time of the year - and you are left believing that love, actually, will prevail. 

The EP starts with an original song, Secret Santa. The clever title is more about Natalie Jane sharing her secret love with Jolly Old Saint Nick and her Christmas wish being some romantic reciprocation. There's an utterly charming instrumental with a swaying beat and glorious backing vocals that send Natalie Jane's hopeful tones soaring past the big sleigh in the sky. It is then into more familiar territory with a whimsical take on Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. Chiming keyboards are the most delicate accompaniment as Natalie Jane sings with a winsome optimism that her titular refrain may just well come true. It's a lullaby of a performance and quite enchanting from first note to last word. 

Can We Fall In Love On Christmas Eve asks Natalie Jane - and with a ballad as achingly yearning as this, you can't help but think that the answer is an emphatic yes. The production on this is simple yet elegant, meaning its impact is as meaningful as if Whitney Houston herself were belting it to the rafters. Like a music box of dreams being opened, it casts a captivating spell - as does Carol Of The Bells. The traditional carol is delivered through layered vocal magic by Natalie Jane. It is so intricate and engaging that you listen multiple times to appreciate the complexity of it all. The ethereal nature of it all makes it as beautiful as the individul snowflakes creating the first white winter morn of the season. 

The EP comes to a close with the title track. Wishlist is the perkiest moment yet on this project - a finale that will make your spirits bright. It sets a pace as peppy as any sleigh ride with Natalie Jane firmly competing for new queen of Christmas cheer as she sings with a contagious exuberance. Booming drums, catchy descriptive lyrics and a chorus as addictive as the office party egg nog makes this ridiculously joyful and triumphant. As with any good final song, it makes you want to hit repeat on the whole wishlist project all over again - and, if we're particularly good and stay on the nice list in 2026, perhaps Natalie Jane will return with new Christmas songs next year!

**Ghosts of Christmas Past**
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