This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday, Vol. 2
Recording information: Airfield Studios, UK; Leboland, San Francisco, CA; Mission Bells, San Francisco, CA; Pheasant Studios, Santa Ana, CA; Radical, San Francisco, CA; Rear Window, Brookline, MA; Soul Sound, Kaneohe, HI; The Creativity Lounge, Goleta, CA; The Mango Tree, HI; The Ontario Escarpment, Canada; The Solar Powered Plastic Plant, Los Angeles, CA.This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday, Vol. 2 follows up the original 2008 collection and features more laid-back pop, rock, and folk-style holiday songs. Featured this time around are tracks by such artists as Zach Gill, Rogue Wave, Neil Halstead, Money Mark, G. Love, and others. Generally, these are extremely soft-focus cuts that range from the sweet and jaunty (Money Mark's "Make Time") to the more melancholy (Halstead's yearning "Home for the Season"). The collection includes Paula Fuga's earthy "Winter Swell Blues," G. Love's rollicking "Christmas Cookies," and Matt Costa's psych-inflected "I Bet on Flying High." ~ Matt Collar