2 EPs/mini-albums that I formed attachments to over consecutive pandemic xmases that was way of propition to their real but slight merits - last year I was played them both constantly as chill out music in between the EPs/albums/mixes/whatever from bree runway, raye and shygirl (all nov 2020 and all still miraculous pieces of work, among the best UK pop of the millennium) so I definitely overrated them by association but they're still among the more bearable xmas music I've heard (towards the R&B side of "Traditional")now I have covid again so I'm bringing it all back
tinashe's comfort & joy EP - it's fine, often good, the arrangement I'm not sure the trap beat always works but I'll take it over sleigh bells and she sounds great as usual
kadhja bonet's california holiday EP - this is a very nice continuous vibe and in the right set and setting it would be a cool moodsetter. it gets a little wispy towards the end but it never sounds unpleasant even when she's covering my least favourite xmas hit (cutting the sleigh bells and making the synth calm down a little make a world of difference)
in conclusion these EPs are fine and even good a lot of the time but you don't need them
― Left, Monday, 25 December 2023 04:07 (four months ago) link