Believe it or not, Ben Folds has never dropped a Christmas album. Well, that’s about to change, as the veteran singer-songwriter has announced Sleigher, a 10-song collection of holiday tunes. Ahead of its release on October 25th, Folds has shared a cover of “The Christmas Song” and a new original titled “We Could Have This” as previews of the project. Stream both below.
Sleigher boasts seven original Christmas numbers from Folds and three classic covers, including “The Christmas Song,” Burt Bacharach’s “The Bell That Couldn’t Jingle,” and The Mills Brothers’ “You Don’t Have to Be a Santa Claus.” The album is currently available to pre-order.
“Christmas is constant, allowing you to take stock of what’s different, to understand who you are and all the ways you’ve grown and changed,” Folds said in a statement. “You can look back on Christmases from your childhood and see the progression, or you can zoom out and look back at Christmas songs from the ’30s and ’40s and ’50s and see we’ve evolved socially and culturally. Having that consistent framework is really illuminating.”
“I love those holiday classics that are totally broad and timeless,” he continued. “But I’ve only ever been able to be myself, and I realized the most generous thing I could do with this album was write the best songs I could, no matter where that took me. Anything else just wouldn’t ring true.”
Listen to Folds’ rendition of “The Christmas Song” below, as well as his new original song “We Could Have This.” Both tracks play it nostalgic and sweet, keeping the instrumentation stripped back and the tone nice and cozy.
The artist is also currently on his lengthy “Paper Airplane Request Tour,” which extends through the middle of December. See the full list of Ben Folds’ 2024 tour dates here, and pick up tickets here.
Folds’ latest album was 2023’s What Matters Most. For more Ben Folds goodness, revisit his Crate Digging entry, in which he discussed 10 Piano Records Everyone Should Own.
Sleigher Artwork:
Sleigher Tracklist:
01. Little Drummer Bolero
02. Sleepwalking Through Christmas
03. Me and Maurice
04. Christmas Time Rhyme
05. Waiting for Snow
06. We Could Have This (feat. Lindsey Kraft)
07. The Christmas Song
08. The Bell That Couldn’t Jingle
09. Xmas Aye Eye
10. You Don’t Have to be a Santa Claus