Colbie Caillat - Christmas In The Sand (2012)

SoCal beach bunny that she is, Colbie Caillat recognized a gaping hole in our collective Christmas consciousness: thousands of seasonal records exist but not a one was made for the beach. And so her 2012 album fills a specific need -- it's a breezy, sunny holiday platter for those who never see a snowflake in their December. Colbie's specialty is a light touch but she actually rocks a little bit harder here than usual, letting her duet partner Brad Paisley goose "Merry Christmas Baby" with his gnarly Telecaster and giving "Winter Wonderland" an insistent electronic pulse, elements that make Christmas in the Sand a little livelier than either of her full-length platters, but the casual brilliance of this unassuming but thoroughly entertaining holiday album is that it has a genuine personality. Apart from a couple of pretty good newly written tunes, the songs are familiar but the sound isn't: Christmas in the Sand is lively, cheerful, and bright, the sound of the season for climates where there's nary a cloud in the sky. And there's never been a Christmas album like that before, so it's something of an achievement for Caillat.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo