Sia
Everyday Is Christmas
Warner
The first Christmas album from Australian singer-songwriter Sia is a curious case of yuletide cheer. On one hand, the songs are full of holiday tidings and seasonal jolly. The delivery, meanwhile, is downright awkward.
Sia’s vocal style doesn’t go well with the bubbly jams here. The melodies are warm and ebullient, but her voice is steely and cool.
At times, it almost sounds as if she is making a parody of a Christmas album instead of a proper holiday record. Look no further than the words on Puppies Are Forever.
“Puppies are forever, not just for Christmas,” the 41-year-old belts over peppy drums and chimes, before adding, “‘cause they’re so cute and fluffy.” One has to wonder if the woman was on medication when she penned the track. Then again, here’s someone who only took 15 minutes to write Rihanna’s Diamonds.
Most of the numbers here – from the pop saccharine of Candy Cane Lane to the cloyingly sappy titular track – come across like misplaced and misguided holiday offerings. The sloppy songwriting and generic melodies make for a very disconcerting listen.
But if there is any salvation at all, it would be the tender Snowman. The heartfelt ballad masked behind metaphors of melting snows shows that perhaps the enigmatic songwriter hasn’t completely lost her touch.
