Christmas music has a pretty specific job. It needs to make you feel warm and fuzzy about the season while conveniently ignoring the fact that you still have presents to buy, people to visit, money to spend and approximately seventeen things to finish before December 25. It’s a genre built on the promise that everything is magical, even when you’re one delayed delivery away from losing your mind.
Mick J. Clark’s “It’s Getting Near Christmas” embraces the inevitable cheesiness, leaning into that familiar excitement and delivering an upbeat pop-rock song about the countdown to the big day. Clark says he wanted to capture the season’s excitement, stress and romance, which is a reasonably ambitious assignment for a holiday single.
Fortunately, Clark keeps things upbeat with a familiar holiday bop and cozy, pulsing instrumentation. Jingle bells and cheerful chimes establish the Christmas spirit from the start, while shimmering synthesizers and a bouncy bassline add a touch of festive sparkle. The production hits that sweet spot for a Christmas pop song: melodic enough for a seasonal playlist while retaining the familiar sound of conventional pop-rock. Thick vocal harmonies reinforce the song’s optimistic feel, as though the festivities are already in full swing, with lights and tinsel up before the Halloween candy has even been eaten.
“It’s Getting Near Christmas” isn’t trying to dismantle the holiday-song formula or offer a radical new interpretation of festive anxiety. It knows the assignment, brings the jingle bells and gets on with it. The song’s appeal lies in that straightforwardness. Put it on while decorating the house, driving to a family gathering, or attempting to turn a pile of shopping bags into something resembling an organized Christmas.
That approach carries over to “It’s Getting Near Christmas.” The track isn’t interested in making the holidays complicated. It wants to soundtrack the anticipation, the decorations and the general feeling that something special is just around the corner.
And sometimes, that’s enough. Christmas doesn’t need every song to reinvent the sleigh. Sometimes, you just need a catchy tune to make wrapping presents feel slightly less like an unpaid seasonal job.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for various publications around the world, the former lead writer of review blogspace Atop The Treehouse and content creator for Manila Bulletin.
