Want some new music in the house this Christmas, but appreciate that classic Christmas sound? Here are 3 new, yet classy Christmas songs from the Bygones: Allison Young and Joshua Lee Turner.
About the Bygones
I have been a fan of Joshua Lee Turner Guitar for quite some time on YouTube. As a guitarist myself, I appreciate his skill and style in a wide variety of genres from rock to jazz and classical.
More recently, Josh has dueting with Allison Young who has had her own YouTube success. Combining talents, these two have formed a new band called The Bygones. I first heard this duo with their cover of Dolly Parton’s “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” which showcases their voices, guitar playing, and even their personalities.
Last Christmas
Josh has been releasing great Christmas covers on his channel for several years. Last year, Allison and Josh each featured a Christmas song – one old and one new.
A Classic Cover – “Skating” by Vince Guaraldi Trio
The choice to cover an instrumental piano tune with guitar and voice speaks to the creativity of these artists. I also appreciate that the title of the song could be misread to say “scatting”, which would be an adequate name for this cover!
I even tried to do a side-by-side comparison of Young & Turner singing alongside the Vince Guaraldi Trio. The tempos are slightly off, but line for line, their vocals are impressively accurate at modeling the feel and honoring the original tune.
A Very Classy Original – “When I’m With You”
Modern pop Christmas songs can be fun expressions of the season, but very few have mass appeal like the classics that we hear every year.
Well, with their writing and composition skills, Josh and Allison wrote a new original Christmas song that sounds classic, as in it has that old sound and sounds very wholesome and classy!
Classic Sound
The secret to their classic Christmas sound in this song is hidden in a few areas.
I think a lot of pop artists might try to write a song for Christmas by just throwing in some jingle bells over their pop beats (looking at J. Beibs). Here it is done without any bells at all.
The song kicks off with Josh’s guitar tone set to a clean almost jazz tone. Then the upright bass walks down straight to Allison’s vocal “There’s snow on the ground” which jumps an octave from low to high. All of this is backed by some snowy light brushes on the drums.
These carefully chosen tones set the picture of those old 1940’s and ’50s Christmas songs.
A Look at Lyrics
Okay, so it’s not really a Christian song. Despite mentioning Jesus’ birthday and other seasonal elements, it is really only a secular song that says, “With you, each day is as joyful as Christmas.” I’d call it a seasonal love song rather than a traditional carol.
But do all of our songs need to be hymns? No.
So while this song should never be played in a Church in the Christmas season, it can still have a place in your Christmas season listening. That might be background tunes at a family gathering, or dancing in the kitchen.
Basically, if you’re looking to replace Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You” or songs like “Baby it’s Cold Outside”, I would choose this new jazzy song.
Then Again, with “Under the Mistletoe” by the Bygones
This year again, The Bygones released another Christmas song that people are really enjoying, with around 100k views already!
For “Under the Mistletoe” they’ve gone a few decades even further back for a 1930’s or even ’20s feel. Josh replaces his electric guitar for acoustic and they bring in a muted trumpet. Starting out with a slow 3/4 and transitioning to a swinging 4/4 it is another feel-good holiday song about love around Christmas and New Years. The swing band and call-and-response chorus really give that era feel as well.
Lastly, a surprise instrument makes an appearance. You learn they’re recording from NYC with the sound of a police siren going by. At first the band is worried that they’re take is ruined, but with joy they realize that it might be just what they’re holiday song needs.
The Bygones: A Band to Watch this Christmas and Beyond
As I mentioned, these aren’t Christian songs by any means. However, these is something about the time between Christmas and New Years that inspires even secular artists to recognize the beauty of the season.
That is the point of these songs – to lift spirits and bring joy during “the most wonderful time of the year”.
The Bygones have definitely shown their song-writing skills with their current EP and these two Christmas originals.
Where to Listen
The Bygones are a band to watch as they will release their first full-length album in March, and then tour the country.
Until then, I’d recommend YouTube or Spotify as a way to listen to classic Christmas songs new and old played by Josh and a group of talented musicians.
Until the next post, Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and I wish you a joyful octave!
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