Tue Dec 17 13:10:00 UTC 2024: ## Critics Weigh In on the Year’s Most Diverse Christmas Albums

**New York, NY** – The holiday season brings with it a flurry of new Christmas albums, and this year’s offerings showcase a wide range of styles and interpretations of classic seasonal tunes. From established artists revisiting past successes to indie musicians offering unique perspectives, the critics at The New York Times have reviewed some of the most notable releases.

Clay Aiken’s second Christmas album, a collection of covers, demonstrates his continued vocal prowess, showcasing both bombastic power and playful mischief, according to Jon Caramanica. A remastered and remixed compilation of The Carpenters’ classic holiday albums, “Christmas Portrait” and “An Old-Fashioned Christmas,” provides a streamlined and polished listening experience, highlighting Karen Carpenter’s intimate vocals, as reviewed by Lindsay Zoladz.

Jacob Collier’s live recording of Christmas classics at Abbey Road Studios is a technically impressive feat, featuring his virtuosic piano playing and a captivating deconstruction of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” though his vocal stylings may not appeal to all listeners, Zoladz notes. A more introspective approach is taken by Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips on “A Peace of Us,” which features hushed vocals and retro production, giving lesser-known Christmas songs a subdued and unique feel, according to Jon Pareles.

Ben Folds’ “Sleigher” offers a standout track, “Christmas Time Rhyme,” a jazzy waltz capturing the bittersweet realities of family reunions, but the rest of the album falls short of this high point, Pareles concludes. The reviews highlight the diversity in this year’s Christmas music releases, offering something for listeners across a variety of tastes.

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