Haley Dreis is back with an album for the first time since 2018, with her latest EP 20/20 releasing in late 2020 — this time, it’s Cozy Christmas, her take on a Christmas album, and fans are in for a treat. Tackling some old Christmas throwbacks as well as some Haley Dreis originals and even “Auld Lang Syne” to cap the album off, there’s a lot going on within the album’s eleven tracks!
WEBSITE: https://haleydreismusic.com/
Opening with “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Haley Dreis ushers listeners into a soft and gentle Christmas album with a soft and gentle song. It’s a classic for a reason, and Dreis does it justice by performing it earnestly, and with her own indie spin. The album continues with “I Can’t Wait For Christmas,” an original from Haley Dreis, that chronicles the days preceding the holiday as the anticipation ramps up into true holiday hysteria – a holidaze, if you will. It’s an enjoyable, poppy indie song that tackles apple cider and pumpkin spice lattes, and the way it works as a bridge between “Have Yourself…” and “Deck the Halls,” two historically-certified holiday bangers, speaks volumes about how confident of a song it is.
Dreis’ rendition of “Deck the Halls” is a nice, low-energy jaunt that spins the classic Christmas carol favorite on its head, and the shift into the soft and gentle “Silent Night” is an earned cover that does the original song justice. Haley Dreis’ entire approach to every song on the record comes from a place of love and respect, and her performances on each of the eleven songs showcase that perfectly.
“White Christmas” brings the album’s pacing back up, giving listeners a poppy tune to ease their way back into the swing of things before another Dreis original, “Christmas Cheer,” picks things back up with a track that details all the best parts of Christmas: sitting cozy by the fire, a red bow’d wreath on your door, with your cat and a cup of tea while you wait under the mistletoe. It’s got an insanely catchy chorus, too, and does a great deal to pull itself up toward the best songs on the album, even beating out its follow-up “Jingle Bells.” “Winter Wonderland” and “Jingle Bells” are great covers made less great by the absolute masterclass songs they’re sandwiched between, but for the songs they are, and the great performance Dreis gives, you can’t be mad!
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One of the album’s other standouts arrives on the cover of Joni Mitchell’s “River,” which perfectly matches Haley Dreis’ voice — the subject matter hurts just as much as the first time you’ll have heard it, but what a beautiful song! “Holidays Are Hard” is another emotional journey of a track, discussing the emotional void you feel having lost someone when the holidays come around, but the vulnerability is impressive and makes the song all the more meaningful.
Choosing to go an inch beyond Christmas and close things out on “Auld Lang Syne” is a perfect choice, as the album feels natural and ready to come to a slow just as the song begins. There’s a love for the entire holiday season contained in all eleven songs on Cozy Christmas, and Haley Dreis performs all of them brilliantly.
Chadwick Easton