Mitchell Tenpenny will release his 11-song Christmas album – Naughty List – this Friday, with physical copies set to be released in the UK on 3rd December.
Mitchell Tenpenny will release his first holiday album – Naughty List – this Friday. Produced by Mitchell, Jordan M. Schmidt and Lindsay Rimes, Naughty List contains all seven songs on Mitchell’s Neon Christmas EP released in 2020, as well as four additional tracks including two originals co-written by Mitchell, ‘Don’t Hang The Mistletoe’ and ‘I Hope It Snows.’ Of the project, Tenpenny shares, “I love all Christmas music.. It always brings me back to my childhood and sharing the holidays with my family. ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ is probably my favourite of all time. Makes me think of sitting by the fire and watching Christmas movies. But I love that I was able to write a few new songs that are included too!”
The project infuses an easy groove into the well-worn classics, brought to life through Tenpenny’s signature, honeyed vocal. ‘Neon Christmas’ opens the project, a jovially, thrumming track couched in swirling, festive production, as Tenpenny sings about enjoying Christmas at the bar down the street while he’s stranded in the snow. ‘‘Cause there’s a bar down the street that’s calling our name / Get some holiday spirits, baby, what do you say?’ Although released last year, the track is still as fresh as it was in the first re-telling, a surprise delight of a holiday original.
The project is filled with sultry tracks that avoid cliche territory. ‘Snow Angels’ is brought to life background touches of Christmas production, rather than hitting you full in the face as Tenpenny sings to a lover about enjoying Christmas inside together. ‘Start a fire in here instead / Maybe we can pour some wine / There ain’t no closing time / Get the sheets all tangled / We can make snow angels / I’m never leaving this room.’ It’s tastefully done and provides another side to Naughty List as a record, avoiding cheesy territory that is so easily a trap on holiday albums. The title track is another lingering, lazily grooving melody and love letter, as he sings about not being able to resist a lover. ‘I’m gon’ end up on the naughty list / And Santa’s gonna take back all my gifts / With kisses sweeter than the cookies / That we left out by the chimney / Tell me, baby, how could I resist?’ It’s a sultry and honeyed track that provides another welcome addition to a string of Christmas classics. The two unreleased originals on the record, ‘Don’t Hang The Mistletoe’ and ‘I Hope It Snows’ follow a similar vein. The former about his inability to resist a lover, ‘If you want to leave the house this Christmas / Don’t Hang the Mistletoe.’ It’s a beautifully, light-hearted track brought to life by a delicately done production and delivered with Tenpenny’s signature vocal. The latter is a delightful duet with girlfriend Megan Patrick about wishing for snow on Christmas day and taking a partner home for Christmas. It’s the stand-out track on the project and is a phenomenal addition.
Tenpenny rounds out the project with some well-chosen covers including ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,’ ‘Let It Snow!’, ‘Joy To The World’ and ‘O Holy Night.’ Again, the production, heavier on guitars than most Christmas projects, avoids saccharine territory – no easy feat in the realm of holiday records, and is a welcome addition to the country Christmas repertoire.
