A holiday-themed compilation of laid back House tracks and downtempo tunes, "The Mistletoe Lounge" generally leans more towards the instrumental side of things with the overall vibe of this album best defined by voxless, prettily House-ed up versions of Christmas standards like Lenny B's glistening take on "Feliz Navidad," J.A.C.E.'s jingle bell-led "Angels We Have Heard," Paul T.'s funked-up "Jingle Bells," or Groovecatcher's "O Come O Come Emmanuel."
Billy Paul Williams' "Ye Merry Gents" tweaks the pattern a bit, though, as he introduces a heavily-distorted vocal amidst the Garage beats and wailing saxophone on his track, but the best of the uptempo tunes would have to be Madison Park's "Winter Wonderland" with its beautifully-arranged counterpoint vocals and airy chimes trembling over the mellow House arrangement.
On the downtempo tip, Perfect Project offer up a minimally slinky version of "Santa Baby," and while Sunday People's vocodered version of "The First Noel" fares better than Neurobic's somewhat disjointed "Silent Night," it's the Grooveaholics who come up tops in this category, with their gently grinding interpretation of "Silent Night."
So while "The Mistletoe Lounge" may be unlikely to get many plays once January comes and the novelty passes, it still provides pleasant enough soundtrack wallpaper for all of your upcoming holiday fiestas.
