American singer Walker Hayes released a new EP, Christmas Vacation. The songs focus on family dynamics, festivities, and love at Christmas.
The music is Country/Holiday. The five songs on this album are incredible in composition and musical style.
There are three original songs: Fancy Like Christmas, Christmas Vacation, and Come on Christmas. Fancy Like Christmas has a fun and upbeat rhythm. Adam Stark impressively created that dynamic energy with the electric guitar. Walker Hayes, Cameron Bartolini, Josh Jenkins, and Shane Stevens did fantastic work composing this piece. Christmas Vacation has a wavy rhythm with great tempo changes, expressing mixed emotions people feel during Christmas. It parallels the song AA from Walker Hayes’ Country Stuff The Album, with a similar rhythm. Walker Hayes and Pete Good did a great job with the composition. Come on Christmas is a beautiful, cozy ballad that reminds me of old-fashioned Country songs from the 1970s and 1980s. Walker Hayes, Clara Park, Emily Falvey, and Sarah Buxton did a remarkable job composing this heartfelt song.
The covers on this record have a great blend of honouring the classics and the Country music touch. This version of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas has a bold Country spin on the holiday classic with the presence of the guitar. There’s also a nice Bing Crosby vibe. It feels intimate. Let It Be Christmas is another beautiful ballad with incredible guitar playing in the background. It honours Alan Jackson’s original version, which has children singing in the background but with a slightly slower tempo.
The musicians did an excellent job creating distinct musical styles with the three original pieces and the two covers.
Walker Hayes’s voice is deep and rich. He sings each song from the heart and has an incredible vocal range. For example, when he sings Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, his voice goes very deep, which is impressive.
The EP has three original songs: Fancy Like Christmas, Christmas Vacation, and Come on Christmas. These tunes discuss family dynamics, either with sentiment and/or humour. Fancy Like Christmas and Christmas Vacation are especially funny as they make references to one of my favourite Christmas movies, Home Alone
Fancy Like Christmas is a sentimental family song with a romantic component. Walker Hayes, Cameron Bartolini, Josh Jenkins, and Shane Stevens wrote this fun, cute tune, and they are doing a good job. I especially enjoyed the references to Applebee’s, Starbucks, and the Home Alone movie.
Christmas Vacation tells a funny family story with great detail about family gatherings. Walker Hayes and Pete Good captured the drama and humour of these family moments that people can relate to.
Come on Christmas feels personal and vulnerable. The words are from the heart. Walker Hayes, Clara Park, Emily Falvey, and Sarah Buxton did great work with
The lyrics of these three songs are profound and relatable.
The EP Christmas Vacation is available.
