Pentatonix - "Christmas is Here!"

Pentatonix - Christmas is Here!
2018, RCA

1. What Christmas Means to Me
2. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
3. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
4. Grown Up Christmas List
5. Greensleeves (Interlude)
6. Sweater Weather
7. When You Believe
8. Waltz of the Flowers
9. Here Comes Santa Claus
10. Making Christmas
11. Where Are You, Christmas?
12. Jingle Bells

So...maybe it's time to give it a rest with the Christmas albums. I can't believe I'm saying this but...I'm kind of disappointed with this one. Part of that has to do with the song selection. I mean, this is their third Christmas album in six years. I never cared for "Grown Up Christmas List" or "Where Are You, Christmas?" to begin with and these versions only make them slightly more palatable. Then we've got the two non-Christmas songs, "Sweater Weather" and "When You Believe." The former of which is okay but the latter is from Prince of Egypt. Another song I wasn't wild about originally (love the movie, though!). The rest of the tracks? It's Pentatonix. It's Christmas. You pretty much know what you're getting. "Making Christmas" (from The Nightmare Before Christmas) is the standout track which really showcases the originality that I fell in love with in the first place. I don't know. Maybe the problem is on my end. I like this okay but it's definitely the bottom of the three.

Useless Fact: Let's see, I've already mentioned that Avi left and that he and Kristen didn't get along. So... I've got nothing. At least Mitch shaved off that awful mustache.

Pentatonix - "PTX Presents: Top Pop, Vol. 1"

Pentatonix - PTX Presents: Top Pop, Vol. 1
2018, RCA

1. Attention
2. Finesse
3. New Rules x Are You That Somebody?
4. Havana
5. Perfect
6. Stay
7. Feel It Still
8. Despacito x Shape of You
9. Issues
10. Praying
11. Sorry Not Sorry

Conversation about Pentatonix my wife and I had...

Wife: "Why are songs always better when Pentatonix does them?"
Me: "Well, I think it's because most modern pop music these days is very much influenced by EDM in which the production can be very harsh. Not to mention the decreased dynamics and variety in just about all modern pop music. Where with Pentatonix - everything is smooth as silk and in terms of dynamics, sometimes you're getting more with those five voices than with an over-produced pop song. So when Pentatonix does it you get to hear the real melody of the song without the bombastic, harsh production."
Wife: "You're Old"

And so it is with the groups latest offering, PTX Presents: Top Pop, Vol. 1. It's made me like songs that I never liked and made me like songs I already liked even more. In other words - a normal day for Pentatonix.

Useless Fact: Avi left the band at some point. The name of the new bass singer escapes me and I am too lazy to look it up. Ooh... there's also rumors that Avi and Kristen didn't get along... so... there's that too, I guess.

Pentatonix - "A Pentatonix Christmas"

Pentatonix - A Pentatonix Christmas
2016, RCA

1. O Come All Ye Faithful
2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
3. White Christmas
4. I'll Be Home For Christmas
5. Up On The Housetop
6. The Christmas Sing-Along
7. Coventry Carol
8. Hallelujah
9. Coldest Winter
10. Good To Be Bad
11. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

Oh, look! More Christmas Pentatonix! There's not really much more I could say about Pentatonix is there? I pretty much like everything they do. I do wonder why they chose "Hallelujah" and "Coldest Winter" for this album as they are not Christmas songs at all. And "Hallelujah" was even the album's first single. This was also before Leonard Cohen died (God rest his soul). So...yeah... it's Pentatonix - go get it already...though be ready for the inevitable reissue next year with extra tracks.

Useless Fact: "The Christmas Sing-Along" and "Good To Be Bad" are the originals here.

Pentatonix - "PTXmas"

Pentatonix - PTXmas
2014, RCA

1. Angels We Have Heard On High
2. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
3. Carol of the Bells
4. The Christmas Song
5. O Holy Night
6. This Christmas
7. Little Drummer Boy
8. Go Tell It On the Mountain

This album came out a bit before their official Christmas debut, That's Christmas To Me. I picked this up in an effort to find every last Pentatonix Christmas song that exists. Naturally, it's great. I mean, it's friggin' Pentatonix so it's pretty impossible for it to be bad. I don't think they could be bad if they tried. I think if they intentionally tried to be bad it would probably just be "above average." Anyway, it's more Pentatonix Christmas music. If you like Pentatonix, then you'll want this album. If you don't... well... you're just wrong.

Useless Fact: That's Christmas to Me has been reissued as a deluxe edition with extra tracks! Argh! We just got the extra tracks on Itunes, even though I'm still strongly tempted to get a hard copy for the vault.

Pentatonix - "Pentatonix"

Pentatonix - Pentatonix
2015, RCA

1. Na Na Na
2. Can't Sleep Love
3. Sing
4. Misbehavin'
5. Ref
6. First Things First
7. Rose Gold
8. If I Ever Fall In Love
9. Cracked
10. Water
11. Take Me Home
12. New Year's Day
13. Light In the Hallway
Bonus Tracks:
14. Where Are U Now?
15. Cheerleader
16. Lean On
17. Can't Sleep Love (feat. Tink)

We love Pentatonix at our house. I've said it before and I'll say it again: if you like music and can't find something to like about these guys, you're going to want to see a neurologist or something because something is wrong with your head. While the group has proven they can make any pop song better than the original version, this is the first time they've done an album full of original songs. It's great, of course. Their knack for fusing acapella with pop sensibilities remains and produces some of the best pop songs I've ever heard. Seriously, "Can't Sleep Love" is an almost perfect pop song. Other songs, like "Water," and "Sing" will get stuck in your head for days. "Light in the Hallway" is an amazing tune with layered vocals and poignant lyrics and one of my favorites as well.

I do have a couple quibbles though. One, it seems like Scott (the one who looks like a Twilight vampire) gets a lot of lead time here. One would almost be tempted to think he's the lead singer with the other folks backing him up. He sings lead on a good share of the songs here. That's not bad, per se, but for a group with this much talent in its ranks I'd like them to share the spotlight a little more. Each person does seem to have their own song (Kirsten's is "Water," Avi's is "Light in the Hallway"), but I like it when they work as a team more like on their covers and Christmas stuff. Also, there's a few songs that sound a little too radio friendly. Stuff like "First Things First" and "New Year's Day" conform more to the pop standard I think. One of the things I like about the group is that they break away from the standard modern pop sound. Anyway, minor things aside, Pentatonix is great and we'll probably be listening to it well into next year.

Useless Fact: Scott and Mitch (the little one) have a You Tube channel called "Super Fruits." My wife tells me it's very amusing.

Pentatonix - "That's Christmas To Me"

Pentatonix - That's Christmas To Me
2014, RCA

1. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
2. White Winter Hymnal
3. Sleigh Ride
4. Winter Wonderland/Don't Worry Be Happy
5. That's Christmas To Me
6. Mary, Did You Know?
7. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
8. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
9. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
10. Silent Night
Bonus Track
11. Let It Go

I heard about Pentatonix on Facebook. One or two of my Facebook friends were writing statuses like, "ZOMG! PENTATONIX IS THE BEST THING EVAR!!!11!!!" Or something to that effect. So I asked my wife if she knew who they were and then she pulled them up on You Tube for me. Holy smokes! They may not be the best thing ever but they are dang good. I'm not even really into a capella music that much. The things they do with their voices and song arrangements are really a thing of beauty. This Christmas album is superb - definitely an instant classic. Everyone's voices are so smooth! So wonderful! This album is such a success because they give all these holiday classics a unique twist that you're not going to hear anywhere else. I mean... they do "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" just with their voices.... and it rocks. I would go as far as to say that if you can't find something about these kids to like then you're an idiot.

Useless Fact: The bass singer looks like Josh Grobin. The tall white guy looks like a Twilight vampire.