The holiday season is the perfect time of the year to pop in a CD and listen to joyful, festive music. Pentatonix, an American a cappella group consisting of five members, released their new holiday album, “That’s Christmas To Me” on Oct. 21. The album contains their covers of classic holiday songs along with some of their own original tracks.

• “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” keeps its original melody and spirit in the beginning of the song, and breaks into a sweet tune with pop undertones to showcase Pentatonix’s unique spin on a Christmas classic. The cover is a fun, peppy song that will get the listener up on their feet.
• “White Winter Hymnal” starts off in an interesting way with each member joining in one by one. Also, Pentatonix once again shows their versatility and capability by having each member add in a different rhythm using their hands, while still maintaining a cohesive song. Their cover of Fleet Foxes is both intriguing and soothing.
• Pentatonix manages to keep their cover “Sleigh Ride” fun and festive. Their member Kevin adds an addictive beat box touch to the song as the other members balance their melodic voices to create a perfect song to listen to during Christmas. The song embodies what the season is all about.
• “Winter Wonderland/Don’t Worry Be Happy” is a collaboration with Pentatonix and Tori Kelly. Their cover keeps Pentatonix’s color while adding a soulful sound with Kelly’s vocals. However, the octaves in the song might sound quite high and the tempo of the song is a bit slow.
• “That’s Christmas to Me” is an original song by Pentatonix. It is a touching song dedicated to Christmas and expresses how the holidays are all about joy, love, and family. The members’ voices work well together and the harmonization creates a smooth, but powerful and meaningful song.
• “Mary, Did You Know?” is lacking at first, however its eerie sound creeps up on the listeners and becomes a powerful song with talented vocals layered on top of each other. Still, the song can prove to be too much to listen to due to its strong message.
• “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” is a different cover compared to the other tracks in the album. The cover completely omits lyrics, and instead opts to use the member’s voices to create a melodic tune. The song would most be useful as background music rather than a full-scale track.
• “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year[‘s]” catchy tune and comforting vocals creates a perfect representation of what Christmas classic songs are all about.
• “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” is a reminder to avid listeners that Pentatonix never fails to create impressive covers that leave people awe struck.
• “Silent Night” is perhaps the most soothing and calm track in the entire album. Pentatonix makes use of their main vocalists to recreate another hit.
• Pentatonix manages to make their cover of “Let it Go” stand out amongst hundreds of other covers of the same song. Something about their ability to balance each member’s contribution to the cover makes the song arguably even better than the original version.