Holiday Music Roundup: Matt Wertz, Hawk Nelson, Matthew West, Michael Bublé, The Jigsaw Seen, She & Him and Jim Brickman

Not a holiday season goes by without countless artists from all corners of the musical universe throwing their sonic Santa hats into the ring. This year is no different, with the far-flung likes of She & Him, Matt Wertz, Jim Brickman and Michael Bublé having released Christmas albums.

If you're planning a Christmas shindig or just wrapping presents over the coming week, the titles below should provide a worthy soundtrack.

Artist: Matt Wertz

Title: Snow Globe

Worth buying: Yes

You might be interested in this CD if you like: Matt Nathanson, John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, Jon McLaughlin

Tell Me More: Since the early 2000s, this Missouri native has put out several albums – both independently and on major labels, while landing high profile soundtrack slots in films and TV shows. His breezy adult contemporary pop/rock always goes down easy and Snow Globe (Provident/Essential) is no exception. Half are holiday standards (a sleek and jazzy “White Christmas” features frequent collaborator/touring partner Dave Barnes; the instrumental “Christmastime is Here” by Vince Guaraldi).

On a low-key “Tennessee Christmas,” the singer/guitarist goes into hushed vocal mode with an assist by its songwriter, Amy Grant. Wertz’s originals are all impressive, especially the finger-snapping, banjo-filled title track, smooth and romantic “Christmas in the City” and horn-laden R&B of “Wake Up, Wake Up.”

-George A. Paul

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Artist: Hawk Nelson

Title: Christmas

Worth buying: Yes

You might be interested in this CD if you like: Relient K, MxPx, New Found Glory, early blink-182

Tell Me More: In recent years, Hawk Nelson has been a regular presence on Air 1 radio stations and Contemporary Christian Music festivals around the U.S. – including FishFest in Irvine, Calif., where I once was impressed by their supercharged performance. Now the fresh-faced Canadian punk/pop group has unleashed Christmas through BEC Records.

Speeding by in 15 minutes, the fun and refreshing 7-song holiday EP doesn’t wear out its welcome. “Joy to the World” starts a capella, then turns into pure comedy as lead singer Jason Dunn tries to outdo his band mates with a rebel yell. Bonus points go to the guys for not always tackling the obvious, like the strident “Here We Come A-Wassailing” and cowpunk of “Up on the Housetop.”

-George A. Paul

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Artist: Matthew West

Title: The Heart of Christmas

Worth buying: Yes

You might be interested in this CD if you like: Shawn Mullins, Chris Tomlin, previous West releases

Tell Me More: Best known for Christian AC radio chart toppers “More,” “You Are Everything” and “The Motions,” West has been putting out albums since the late ‘90s. The gregarious singer/songwriter’s The Heart of Christmas (Sparrow) is religious in nature, but doesn’t get too heavy in that realm. Musically eclectic, the songs range from classic big band (“Jingle Bells”), Dixieland-meets-gospel (“O Come, All Ye Faithful) and endearing soul (“Come On Christmas”).

West penned seven of the 12 tracks here and his usual poignant storytelling really comes to the fore (an emotional, folk-leaning “One Last Christmas,” based on the true story of a boy dying of Leukemia; acoustic guitar-based ballad “Leaving Heaven,” featuring Vince Gill’s warm pipes). That country superstar’s wife Amy Grant – boy, she sure got around this year – guests on “Give This Christmas Away.” Keeping with the family-friendly vibe, one of West’s young daughters sings briefly on a hidden final track.

-George A. Paul

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Artist: Michael Bublé

Title: Christmas

Worth buying: Yes

You might be interested in this CD if you like: Harry Connick Jr., Tony Bennett, Bobby Darin, other Bublé albums or his 2003 holiday EP, Let it Snow

Tell Me More: Before becoming a household name, Bublé was inspired to pursue a career as a pop/jazz singer after continuously listening to an old Bing Crosby Christmas album. So it’s no surprise that the Canadian crooner finally did a full-length holiday collection of his own.

Christmas (Reprise) assembles 14 classics and one original (“Cold December Night”) that recalls “Haven’t Me You Yet.” London swing vocal trio The Puppini Sisters and the musicians bring an Andrews Sisters-meets-Hot-Club-of-Cowtown vibe to “Jingle Bells,” while Naturally 7 add doo wop to a peppy “White Christmas,” featuring Shania Twain. Bublé even goes international: there’s a reverent “Ave Maria” with choir and a duet in Spanish with Mexican superstar Thalia.

Standouts are an ebullient, Phil Spector-styled “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” with rock drummer Josh Freese and guitarist Keith Scott and dramatic “All I Want For Christmas is You,” anchored by the legendary Jim Keltner and a string/horn section arranged by Jon Brion.

-George A. Paul

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Artist: The Jigsaw Seen

Title: Winterland

Worth buying: Yes

You might be interested in this CD if you like: Early Phil Spector productions, Arthur Lee & Love, Nuggets compilations, The Posies

Tell Me More: Members of this L.A.-based underground chamber pop act have collaborated/toured with Rufus Wainwright, David Gray and Maria McKee in the past. Last year, their first new studio album in a decade came out. So this seasonal effort on Vibrophonic Recordings is a quicker-than-usual turnaround.

The lyrics lean toward the melancholy side; the Sixties psychedelia-influenced sound contains bits of mellotron, chamberlain, arp axe (!) and organ (the latter comes courtesy of Dramarama’s Morley Bartnoff). Kinks guitarist Dave Davies adds subtle vocals to Jigsaw Seen’s lone cover: Gordon Lightfoot’s “Circle of Steel.” Elsewhere, the band douses “Christmas Behind Me” in reverb, gives “Candy Cane” is jangly blissful sheen and “Winterland’s Gone” becomes idyllic, colored by flute and clarinet.

-George A. Paul

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Artist: She & Him

Title: A Very She & Him Christmas

Worth buying: Yes

You might be interested in this CD if you like: Aimee Mann's 2006 holiday album One More Drifter in the Snow, She & Him's previous albums

Tell Me More: There is a timeless feel to A Very She & Him Christmas (Merge), a collection that finds Zooey Deschanel (She) and M. Ward (Him) fusing their magical mix of retro pop and modern-day melancholy to tackle more than a dozen Christmas gems. From the breezy western-swing version of "Sleigh Ride" and early '60s-styled "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" to the sparse "The Christmas Song" and "Silver Bells" (the latter which finds Deschanel's emotive soprano positioned against her own ukulele work in one of the most original arrangements I've ever heard of that song), this is very much an authentic She & Him album. A Very She & Him Christmas, indeed.

-Robert Kinsler

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Artist: Jim Brickman

Title: All Is Calm

Worth buying: Yes

You might be interested in this CD if you like: Jim Brickman's previous albums, instrumental piano music

Tell Me More: There is a simplicity and beauty to pianist Jim Brickman's interpretations of some of the holiday's most loved songs on his ambitious All Is Calm (Somerset), a collection that also features several of his own compositions. Highlights include a tender arrangement of "Gloria In Excelsis Deo" and a lush version of "Away In A Manger" with soaring flute (played by Sam Levine) and distant Celtic vocals courtesy of Erinn Bates that add textures around Brickman's piano. Whether performing old English carols ("Coventry Carol"), original works (the infectious "Fa La La La La") or seasonal favorites ("O Come All Ye Faithful"), Brickman's All Is Calm creates a peaceful mood in tune with those who refuse to get too stressed out by the holiday season.

-Robert Kinsler

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