Description
The Light Came Down is a Christmas album by the American singer and songwriter Josh Garrels, independently released on his own label Small Voice Records in November 2016. It features a mix of new takes on traditional songs and originals. The album debuted at No. 10 on iTunes’ US Top Albums Chart.
My taste in Christmas music runs more toward the joyous, so it’s no surprise to me that my favorite of a good lot this year is from Josh Garrels. An imposing figure with a powerful voice, Garrels writes lovely songs that explore faith and beauty. The Light Came Down is his first Christmas album, a mix of new takes on traditional songs and originals that depict the birth of Christ in poetic language. The opening title track is one of those, as Garrels sings “the light came down, cast the darkness away” over stirring strings and martial drums. The song so encapsulates everything I would expect from a Josh Garrels Christmas number – there’s a falsetto section, and a choir, and everything – that you may wonder where he goes for the next 14 songs.
Thankfully, the answer is “pretty much the same place.” Garrels sings «What Child is This» and «O Come O Come Emmanuel» and «O Holy Night» like the hymns they are, set in absolutely gorgeous foundations of guitar and strings. His elastic voice takes old classic «The Virgin Mary Had One Son» dancing, and simply electrifies «Gloria», another swell original. Like his masterpiece Love and War and the Sea In Between, Garrels ends The Light Came Down with a suite of songs that lay out his vision of the meaning of Christmas, which includes «Silent Night» but also a stunning version of the Brilliance’s «May You Find a Light». It’s such a beautiful song, and I’m glad someone of Garrels’ caliber noticed it and ran with it.
The album concludes with a pair of hymns. Garrels simply shines on «O Day of Peace», a song that wraps up all that has come before in a lovely bow, and his own «Come to Him» is a perfect coda. The Light Came Down is everything I thought it would be, and is the most hopeful thing I have heard in a long time. [Andre Salles, Tuesday Morning 3 a.m., 11/29/16]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-light-came-down/1170756163)
CD tracklist:
01. The Light Came Down – 4:20
02. What Child Is This – 3:52
03. The Virgin Mary Had One Son – 3:11
04. O Come O Come Emmanuel – 3:38
05. Gloria – 5:02
06. O Holy Night – 3:55
07. Shepherd’s Song – 3:27
08. Hosanna – 5:30
09. The Boar’s Head – 2:28
10. Merriment – 1:13
11. Silent Night – 4:41
12. Journey to Bethlehem – 1:55
13. May You Find a Light – 3:47
14. O Day of Peace – 2:31
15. Come to Him – 1:27
Note: Also released on 12-inch vinyl LP in December 2017. Available at Bandcamp: https://joshgarrels.bandcamp.com/album/the-light-came-down
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