Sounds of the Holiday - EP

iTunes Review

With her 2011 holiday EP, Schuyler Fisk gives a hip spin on a handful of classic carols, starting with a reverb-soaked retro rendition of the Johnny Marks tune “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” Her version has a little more sultry sass than the original 1958 Brenda Lee recording, as acoustic six-string tones and a vintage Wurlitzer keyboard play along to metronomic sleigh bells. Her take on “Silver Bells” features lush vocal harmonies flowing over a waltzing rhythm, a lightly strummed guitar, and simple but elegantly played piano. With minimal acoustic guitar accompaniment on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” there’s plenty of room for Fisk to really explore her vocal range. Her own “Sleep Sleep (Christmas Lullaby)” is a beautifully wintry serenade to those excited little people who find it difficult to fall asleep the night of December 24. Another original is the jangly folk-rocker “It’s Christmas So We’re Singing"; then she closes with the peppy bonus track “More Than I Wished For,” a collaboration with Tim Myers under the FM Radio moniker.