Un5gettable – It’s Time for The Holidays
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/un5gettable/
The core of five piece vocal group Un5gettable is the childhood friendship of Kyle Cothern, Joe Cameron, and Ryan Richards. They met a fourth member, Brendan Hawkins, during their days in high school choir and theater productions. This passion for performance led the four into pursuing a career in musical theater where Joe met the group’s fifth member Zach Harris. The group’s latest single release, “It’s Time for the Holidays”, is co-written by Cameron and Harris. Their musical and vocal virtues shine as brightly as ever and the production renders their trademark multi-part harmonies with exceptional clarity. The lyrical content revisits many of the tropes popular in Christmas music with comedic flair, but the presentation of these familiar elements is what matters most here and they make the usual glitter and glisten in pleasing ways.
The spine of the track is built around a steady piano plonking chirping cheerfully throughout and light percussion. The song runs a little over two minutes in length and, between the vocal clinic they put on and the minimal musical accompaniment, Un5gettable does an equally impressive job of keeping listeners’ attention invested in the song. A big part of them retaining the audience’s attention is the light comedic touch coming through in the song and the theatrical quality they surround those moments with. The transitions from passage to passage are adroitly handled with the sort of experience that music fans will recognize as a hallmark of genuine talent. As mentioned earlier, the lyrics traffic in a lot of customary holiday imagery, but the imagery is precise rather than general. Their voices are the unquestioned musical stars in this piece and the song’s instrumental breaks are brief.
The group’s vocal talents are considerable. However, without an imaginative arrangement, these are fine singing voices twisting in the wind. “It’s Time for the Holidays” alternates between a solo vocal and a rich array of harmonic configurations. The group reaches their zenith when the five members are singing in unison and there’s enough differences and similarities alike in the song to give their vocals an often unique flavor. The short length of the song is ideal for the subject matter and it breezes past the listener like a sweet confection melting in the mouth. A musical sugar cookie perhaps?
Un5gettable have earned their reputation as one of the best vocal acts in the country and their creative songwriting balances the specific details and comedic moments quite nicely. They are clever enough to make us laugh, but they are never heavy-handed with those moments. This is a fine holiday themed track that escapes any undue sentimentality, will provoke laughter, but also strikes enough familiar notes that a broad based audience will enjoy it a great deal. “It’s Time for the Holidays” is an entertaining and musically skilled track that many will enjoy.
CD BABY: https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/un5gettable2
Jason Hillenburg
I love this group. Can we get them on the radio more? I want the world to hear them.