Reviews
Artist:Sofia Talvik Album: When Winter Comes
Label: Makaki Musi
Tracks: 14
Website: https://sofiatalvik.com/
For over 10 years Sofia Talvik has made it a tradition to write and release a free Christmas single every year. For 2024 she has re-imagined, re-recorded, re-mixed and re-mastered these songs to bring them come together as an album. 13 of the 14 songs are originals and focus on the darker side of Christmas, which seems to be becoming a theme this year with the release of Smoke Fairies winter album and several other songs exploring deeper aspects of the season.
Single This Great Old Christmas Night for instance is about “leaving this world at Christmas.” It’s an Irish influenced tune with fiddle providing a very Celtic feel. A Second or A year is by contrast a piano ballad with call and response lyrics it is a delicate tune and typical of many on this album. Cold, Cold, Feet substitutes guitar for piano and talks about the harsh realities of Christmas in poverty.
Her 9 previous albums have all been a blend in various parts of folk, Americana, and Scandinavian influences. Her Christmas tunes nearly all veer towards the folk side. They are all very seasonal in subject and tone. Best songs are the chiming guitar of A Berlin Christmas Tale, and the Simon and Garfunkel like One Last Wish For Christmas. The fairly similar tempo and style does mask how much variety there is on this album. Having songs written over the course of a decade means that there is a clear development in her writing. When It Rains On Christmas Day with its drifting pedal steel and simple tune reveals itself to be one of her most considered lyrics after a couple of listens. The closing chorus of Hallelujah makes this the most carol-like of the songs on the album.
If you’re tired of the same old Christmas music, then this is a great alternative. This feels like an album to be played on Christmas Eve with a fire and a glass of something warming to see in the day itself.
Tim Martin
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Fatea Showcase Sessions
The Fatea Showcase Sessions are a series of downloads featuring acts that we've really enjoyed and think that more people should get the chance to hear.
Pirate is the current session and features 16 fantastic artists check out the website to find out more about them and download your copy
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