Laura Klonowski
As the Christmas season kicks into high gear, US country music sensation Sarah Darling is getting ready to release her eagerly anticipated Christmas covers album ‘Winter Wonderland’.
The LP features eight festive classics such as ‘Silent Night’ and ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’.
The holiday album kicks off with a stunning version of ‘Santa Baby’, Darling’s honey-sweet vocals bring a new warmth to the cheeky hit and the country twist give the song a modern day feel. It’s a great start to the record and gives us a hint of what is to come.
Sarah then takes on ‘White Christmas’ and totally makes the track her own. Her vocals are perfect for these slow ballads and it just makes you want it to be Christmas morning. The stunning strings arrangement also make it feel like an original rather that a cover.
The third track on the festive LP is the spine-tingling cover of ‘Silent Night’, this is one of my personal favourites off the record and Sarah Darling sounds divine as she delivers a note-perfect rendition of this classic. Her smooth syrupy vocals are sublime and they shine to perfection on this gorgeous cover.
Up next is the album’s title track ‘Winter Wonderland’. Once again Darling puts a wonderful country twist on the holiday favourite as she brings the track to life with her stunning voice. The toe-tapping hit is given a make-over by the US singer while still keeping the old-style feel. It really gives you that Christmassy feeling.
The fifth song on the record is ‘The Christmas Song’. You can’t really get more festive than this track and Darling give’s it a new lease of life with the new arrangement and her gorgeous vocals. It makes you want to cuddle up in front of a roaring fire while this plays in the background.
At number six is Sarah’s personal favourite Christmas song ‘ River’. This Joni Mitchell classic isn’t the most merry of Christmas songs but it does lend itself well to the country genre. It’s a stunning track and Darling does it great justice as she delivers a stunning rendition.
Up next we have Sarah’s cover of ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’. I just love this song and I am totally in love with Darling’s divine version. She really brings the track to life and the country-style arrangements just makes it even better.
The album comes to a close with one of my all time favourites ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’. This is the probably the stand-out cover on the LP as Sarah delivers a stunning rendition keeping the classic feel while totally making it her own.
RATING: 5/5
Sarah Darling’s new album ‘Winter Wonderland‘ will be released on November 17th! Make sure you catch her live when she supports Ward Thomas at the G Live in Guildford on December 6th, tickets are on sale now.
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