Review- Melissa Carper: A Very Carper Christmas
Very Carper Christmas melted my Grinchy heart.
Listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving should be a crime. So, when Melissa Carper’s A Very Carper Christmas fell into my inbox like a rogue snowflake well before anyone in their right mind would be ready for winter, my first instinct was to delete it on sight.
Photo by Liza Orozco
But, I gave it my usual test: one full play without thinking, then a second with the critical lights on. The problem was, the first run-through got me. That last song snuck up and sold me before I was ready. I knew I was in trouble. Vintage swing, candlelit bass lines, and a voice warm enough to thaw a cave I’ve spent years keeping frozen. Carper wasn’t here to recycle Christmas; she was here to rebuild it, one song at a time.
And somewhere between those first few tracks and the final quiet glow of that closer, I realized what stayed with me most were the Christmas Easter eggs and the small but mighty holiday musical flourishes, drifting down like snow across an untouched field, each one shining for a moment before melting into the next.
Sadly, my attempts to review this album in shame, I mean in private, were in vain. Nearing my deadline, I had to put it through the speakers in the house. Now my gorgeous wife, who I have to remind year after year that there is a whole holiday between Halloween and Christmas, is waltzing across the kitchen with a smile bigger than the one she had on our wedding day. With each note, I failed to contain my delight in her delight. It is, after all, her and my daughter’s favorite holiday.
And somewhere in that kitchen waltz, I realized the joke was on me. I wasn’t just listening anymore. I was being pulled into the season, step by step, whether I liked it or not.
Just then, my daughter walked in, and it was like getting caught in the act. She froze. I froze. She looked genuinely confused, like she was trying to figure out where her father had gone. The same man who tells her to keep the door to her room closed so none of the Christmas leaks out into the hallway. And there I was, standing in the open, letting the season wash right over me. Yes, she’s already part of the conspiracy. She’s got a Christmas tree and a fully decorated bedroom like she’s running her own North Pole branch office. But the look on her face said everything: What happened to Dad?
Work calls, and like any true professional, I will do what I can to get this highly critical, nearly-acclaimed Christmas review back on track. The world waits.
“Plug in the Tree” comes flying out of the gate with this kind of whimsical, hurried pace. Honestly, it reminded me of a Delta frequent flier trying to shoot down the aisle the second that seatbelt light dinged. It’s got that same nervous energy, like folks who plug in their Christmas tree way too early and pretend it’s totally normal. You can almost hear that rush of “let’s just do it before anyone sees,” like they know they’re wrong but they’re going for it anyway. The song feels a little guilty and a little excited at the same time, which, if we’re being honest, is kind of how early Christmas people operate.
One thing I started to appreciate, maybe against my will, is that there are fifteen songs on this album. Fifteen. And for Christmas entertainers—people hosting, cooking, wrapping, or just trying to survive whatever chaos December brings—that’s kind of perfect. You don’t have to curate some complicated playlist or jump around skipping songs you don’t like. You can just hit play once and let it run, and the Christmas energy takes over from there and the joy of the season begins to fill your heart and the neighborhood with the necessary cheer we all desperately crave during the holiday season.
And part of what makes that work is the sound itself. Carper’s voice has this warm, twangy, vintage glow—part western swing, part smoky jazz lounge, part front-porch storyteller—and the band leans right into it with upright bass, brushed drums, and that easy old-time sway. Nothing feels overproduced or artificial. It sounds like Christmas the way people remember it, not the way it usually gets packaged.
The excitement, joy, and wonderment of the holiday spirit run from start to finish here, all wrapped up in a single, wonderfully wrapped album that feels filled with a lifetime of old-fashioned holiday memories. And if I’m being honest, the song “Sit By the Fire With You” might be my second favorite. It’s got just a smidge of Christmas swing, a quiet smile tucked inside it, and the thought of creating a formative memory—dancing with my wife to Christmas music way too soon before Thanksgiving, long before my inner Grinch ever wanted to.
“Just One Stocking” is a real standout. It captures that specific kind of loneliness and isolation that hits extra hard when you’re broke and alone during the season. The only place open is a Waffle House, and over a cup of hot coffee the storyteller notices another person sitting by themselves. Instead of pretending they don’t exist, he invites them over to join him on what would’ve been an otherwise cold, lonely night. It harkens back to a time when simple gestures meant everything, especially when you didn’t have much else to give, and how someone’s company is worth more than any treasure.
“The Day After Christmas” is a catchy jingle and an absolute delight, the kind of song that could melt the coldest of hearts, even if you were born with a heart two sizes too small, just like it did mine. It’s a real shame it’s the last song on the album, but honestly, in the world of albums, it’s sitting exactly where it belongs. This whole thing starts with plugging in the tree and all that excitement, and it ends with that familiar sadness that hits the moment the holiday season has basically wrapped up. All the emotions, all the feelings, all the joy that came with it—suddenly you can feel them slipping through your fingers a little, and the song captures that perfectly. If you know, you know. And by that point, I wasn’t just listening to a Christmas album — I was living in one.
If you’re like my family and relish the holiday season, this album will surely fill your heart and soul with more memories and merriment than you need to keep you warm throughout the holiday season.
Download it—and please, for the sake of humanity and all things decent, wait until the day after Thanksgiving!
Wait… that’s when it comes out.
Perfect for everyone.
Rating: 🎄🔥 — The only kind of Christmas fire you actually want.
Find out more about Melissa Carper at the links below:
Website
