I don’t normally like Christmas music. Save for a few of the things I recall my mother playing as a kid that have sentimental value, I just don’t get into it and I hate all the gooey – and these days, faux – fawning over the holiday season that people seem to have. Because for most of them, they’ll spend a month going into debt shopping because they feel like they’re supposed to, under the guise of “goodwill for all” and of course, not wanting their kids to feel “left out” and then..next month, they’ll go back to swearing everyone again. Seems silly to me. Plus, I always thought gifts were more meaningful at times when they weren’t “supposed” to come.

That’s ironic.

But anyway, about this CD.

I love it. It’s indie goodness at it’s best. And the fact is, no one else could’ve put something out with so much volume and not have it feel watered down. Sufjan Stevens really solidifies himself with this release, mostly because it’s music that you can listen to without feeling like you’re being beaten over the head with it—without it feeling sacrilegious or too over the top.

Worth checking out.