Maybe it is the scar of Bono’s infamous 1984 line healing or
a timely visit from one of those Dickensian spirits, but a record clambering
for room in the crowded seasonal market has burrowed into one’s mind to conjure
up a few end of year thoughts. Original Christmas music can often present a
crossroads for those artists tempted to indulge in it, either pop down the safe
populist route or score some points with an alternative stab. It does not take
too much deduction to expect someone from a folk-Americana slant to adopt the
second stance and this collection from Sofia Talvik resides firmly in this
camp. Regardless to where you stand on this type of themed music, the offering
from this Swedish singer-songwriter is rather impressive and well equipped to
soothe any cynics in the room.
This album has been a project ten years in the making, with
Sofia maintaining a self-pact to write a new song each winter that attempts to
throw a light on some of the less salubrious issues associated especially within
a Northern Hemisphere Christmas. On the surface, a proliferation of titles containing
the words: winter, cold and Christmas does suggest a little drift into cliché status,
but the old adage of ‘do not judge the contents by the cover’ has never been
more pertinent. What the album does reveal is a hour-long exhibition on how to
blend a vocal style packed with glowing warmth into the sombre instrumental
triangle of soft piano, morbid cello and haunting pedal steel. Yes, the subject
content does focus away from a joyous tendency, exactly what would expect from
titles such as ‘When It Rains on
Christmas Day’, ‘Cold, Cold Feet’,
‘Clothe Yourself for Christmas’ and ‘A Carol for the Lonely’.
While a Nordic charm adorns these tracks, you cannot escape
the Americana influence that has formed an artist who spends a large degree of
her touring days stateside. Perhaps, this is the ultimate appeal alongside
spending a captivating hour soaking up the ambient nature of these songs.
Obviously, the shelf life of such a record is limited, but with it taking a
decade to surface in this collective format, filing it away in a convenient
place for retrieval in twelve months’ time should just be a small part of the
preservation process.
Outside this seasonal release, Sofia Talvik is a highly
active touring and recording musician, best known in the UK for the release of
her 2015 album BIG SKY COUNTRY. Mainly, though it is continental Europe and USA
that has been the geographical focus for her music, but you never know motives
may change. There is ample evidence on this record to suggest there is a great
deal more to come in conventional surroundings.
www.sofiatalvik.com
music.sofiatalvik.com/album/when-winter-comes-a-christmas-album
