Kiesza embraces the upbeat, cheery sound of the Christmas season on the EDM-pop influenced “Christmas Without You (feat. Sugar Jesus).” Underneath the trappings is a more yearning message of longing for another. The song takes time, slowly letting the track build itself into a force of nature. Lots of volume gets brought into the equation, adding to the immersive aspect. Stylistically, it draws upon elements of pop, electro, dance, everything really, even traces of traditional Christmas music underneath everything else going on within the arrangement.
Bells ring out in the first moment, and the way they reverberate charts the rest of the space in an understated, eloquent way. Her voice has a power behind it as she belts it out the way so many Christmas classics do. Nods to Mariah Carey’s romantic Christmas “All I Want For Christmas Is You” appear throughout, though Kiesza takes her time working up to something that grandiose. Instead, the soft opening belies the much louder, more intense finale, with the energy rising significantly. The guitars from the beginning melt away to give way to tasteful synthesizer swells, chords that help to crush everything in their path. For the final stretch, this celebratory relief circles back, closing the piece on a high note.
“Christmas Without You (feat. Sugar Jesus)” shows off the bluesy effect Kiesza accomplishes so well, crafting this timeless, ageless message that gives the song a classic cadence.
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