New Album From Cadence: Cool Yule

Last year Cadence gave us Speak Easy and this year they grace us with their first Christmas album: Cool Yule. My opinion is that a Christmas album should feel like a Christmas album, and Cadence doesn't disappoint. I am thankful that the quality is in line with their usual music, but it still has the forethought of staying simple with some of the arrangements and keeping that Christmas feel, such as on Silent Night, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and Christmas Song. With that said, there are some songs that I haven't heard before, such as the title track, River, The Carpenter's Carol, and the French song Petit Papa Noel, which makes this album stand out, along with Cadence's innovative arranging even on familiar songs and their distinct jazz sound.

The track list on this album is almost perfect. The album has bookends of Silent Night, with a prelude at the beginning and the full song at the end. We then get an upbeat playful Sleigh Ride that then leads us into the very jazzy and very Cadence Cool Yule. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas is warm and cozy, which then leads us into Baby, It's Cold Outside with a lovely duet (Who is the woman singing? She's great!) We then move into a rock feel with the lead on River sounding like a rock ballad, then I Saw Three Ships as a rock anthem. The moving Carpenter's Carol is worth the album price alone. When we hit Carol of the Bells we get back into the jazzy Cadence sound. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree sounded out of place on a Cadence album until it hit the bridge and the guys go into a signature old timey breakdown that brought it back around for me. Petit Papa Noel made me break out my French, but it is quite lovely, especially leading into the Christmas Song. Finishing with Silent Night is a good touch, wrapping things with a traditional song with Cadence's amazing a cappella instruments.

Thank you, Cadence, for making a Christmas album. Thank you, thank you, thank you.