Dark Sacred Night

Album review

Former Pedro the Lion frontman David Bazan offers a different take on the holidays with Dark Sacred Night, a gently brooding collection of Christmas carols and assorted covers culled from earlier releases. Bazan's intensity and affinity for dark-toned songcraft has been well-represented in both his solo career and with Pedro, so it makes sense that his Yuletide tracks would represent the less festive side of the season. Culled from a series of holiday singles put out by the Suicide Squeeze label, some of which date as far back as 2002 (and were formerly released under his band's name), the ten tracks on Dark Sacred Night were remixed and remastered into one of 2016's more peculiar and certainly more downcast Christmas albums. Citing his struggles with "religion, family, and commercialism gone mad," Bazan seeks to express the more uncomfortable side of the holidays where it's okay to admit feelings of depression and anxiety during what, for many, is actually not "the most wonderful time of the year." While a decidedly somber Christmas album might seem unappealing, his tone is actually quite sincere and strangely meditative, especially on tracks like "Away in a Manger" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem." There's a spacious, lo-fi patina that nicely frames his gentle strumming and earnest baritone. Not every track works and it's unlikely to replace Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas in terms of sheer comfort, but it's certainly honest and offers an alternative to the parade of musical schmaltz that arrives like clockwork each season.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo