Song Review:: BANG&JANG&YOO&MOON (B.A.P): Christmas With You- Christmas With You

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  • Release date: 2024 December 18
  • Album tracklist: Winter Magic, Christmas With You, Snow, Christmas With You - Unplugged, Winter Magic - Instrumental, Christmas With You - Instrumental, Snow - Instrumental
  • Album runtime: 27 minutes

 I'm so excited to listen to this. Obviously I'm very excited since I'm actually posting this on the day it releases, but I'm over the moon (pun not intended...mostly) that they're releasing a Christmas album. I've already fallen in love with the teaser, and I was waiting most impatiently for them to actually drop the thing. I'll need to find something else to look forward to for the rest of the week, but I can do that. In the meantime, I'm just going to bask. And Merry Christmas to me, it comes with the instrumentals and an unplugged version.

That piano is gorgeous. The piano is the dominant sound going on in the instrumentals, which does make it sound a little bit like lounge music, but it's so unbelievably soothing that I honestly couldn't care less. The beginning also has a horn of some sort.  I'm pretty sure we hear a cymbal being tapped once or twice, and a string of some sort join in quietly. Towards the end, an electric guitar gently pokes just the tip of its nose into the sound. The other dominant sound are the beaded maracas, which took me two listens to fully notice. They do a good job of hiding with the beat of the piano to just quietly support the sound. There's nothing that is particularly pinpointed as a "Christmas" sound, but the mellow sound does bring to mind snow falling and a crackling fire. 

Who needs energy when you have something as gorgeous as these voices? They are harmonizing in points, but it's just soothing and lovely, and it's trying to soothe me to sleep right now. Everyone sings. The vibratos are free. It's a TKO on me right now. Also Yongguk's little part fits so well and is so unbelievably precious. His is currently the only one I can immediately identify, so I apologize to the others. 

If you want more energy, Winter Magic has a stronger jazz sound over the lounge of Christmas With You, and Snow is more EDM, but still very chill. So chill. This is all good.

YouTube knows what's up. I didn't even have to search for this. It was my first suggested video after the shorts and above a post Big Ocean did. And it's a precious music video. I was worried for a moment that, given how close this is relatively speaking to their last album, they might be overworking themselves, but the fact that they didn't have to do anything for the music video as it's entirely with their rabbit characters (matokis if the comments are to be believed), does ease that concern quite a bit. I doubt they'll let themselves be too overworked ever again, but I worry all the same given their specific history more than I think any other group. The music video is charming and is blatantly about finding the light and the joy to bring in the holiday season, and seeking for the joy in others. It's a good message. The rabbits are adorable. But there's a touch of the bittersweet to it when accompanied by the soft, gorgeous song. I'm glad by the end it's happy. Essentially, it's every heartwarming Christmas movie distilled down to four minutes with their rabbit characters.



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