Get Christmas cozy with new holiday records from Brandy, Cher, Creed guitarist and more

Last Christmas, music lovers gave their hearts to a bumper crop of holiday records from the likes of Alicia Keys, Backstreet Boys, Switchfoot, Chris Isaak.

This year, to save you from tears, let's set expectations: 2023's slate of holiday music isn't nearly as strong.

Still, there are delights to be found in projects from legacy pop stars, jazz luminaries and rockers trying something different. Here's a look at some new and notable holiday releases.

Brandy, 'Christmas with Brandy'

On the first holiday record of her 30-year career, Brandy leans into the string- and keyboard-driven R&B she has practically perfected. Nimbly mingling heartbroken holiday-set ballads and standards, Brandy offers that rarest of Christmas-music gifts — an album that sounds exactly like an artist being themselves.

Key tracks: "Somebody's Waiting," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Christmas Gift" (with Sy'Rai)

Rating: 4 out of 5 ornaments

Cher, 'Christmas'

Cher's decades-long drive has featured a number of distinct periods and styles. She brings them all to bear here, in sometimes disorienting fashion. December synths ice auto-tuned pop; Cher once again proves an assured duet partner to the likes of Stevie Wonder and Michael Bublé; and retro rock gets its say.

Taken as a whole, the record feels spread thin and sounds best when Cher and Co. keep it simple, serving specific songs.

Key tracks: "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" (with Darlene Love), "Please Come Home for Christmas," "Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart" (with Cyndi Lauper)

Rating: 3 out of 5 ornaments

Samara Joy, 'A Joyful Holiday'

Lighting her first holiday EP aglow, the Grammy-winning singer bids listeners to come from winter's cold into the radiant vibes of a jazz lounge.

The aptly-named Joy wraps her wine-rich voice around standards as well as the lovely "Twinkle Twinkle Little Me," sung from the perch of a Christmas star. Born into an East Coast gospel music family, Joy folds in relative influence and talent on the final two tracks.

Key tracks: "Warm in December," "Twinkle Twinkle Little Me" (with Sullivan Fortner), "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

Rating: 4 out of 5 ornaments

Christian Sands, 'Christmas Stories'

The remarkable young pianist coaxes more of everything — more pure warmth, more refined pleasure — from the historic relationship between jazz and holiday music. Collaborating with ace talents across the bandstand, Sands and Co. consistently find the swing in the season, setting melodic delight to limber rhythms.

"Christmas Stories" deserves a place at your holiday dinner party or cocktail hour, each track mirroring the toasty vibes.

Key tracks: "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!" (with saxophonist Jimmy Greene), "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" (with drummer Keita Ogawa), "Silent Night" (with guitarist Marvin Sewell)

Rating: 4 out of 5 ornaments

Mark Tremonti, 'Christmas Classics New and Old'

Making his first Christmas record, the guitar hero behind Creed and Alter Bridge would go full-on symphonic rock — Trans-Siberian Orchestra-style, right? Sounds like a no-brainer.

Rather, Tremonti takes us back to the age of crooners with a set in the lineage of Sinatra and Crosby. While he can't quite hold a candle to such company, Tremonti acquits himself well vocally and brings touches of class and sincerity to these 10 tracks.

Key tracks: "Jingle Bells," "Christmas Morning," "The First Noel"

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 ornaments

Wheatus, 'Just a Dirtbag Christmas'

The rockers behind the 2000 anthem "Teenage Dirtbag" would make the shortlist of acts least likely to offer up a Christmas record in 2023. But Wheatus clearly has a blast with this five-song EP; it's more than a gag gift, less than canon-worthy.

Among these tracks: a seasonal rewrite of their greatest hit — "Christmas Dirtbag" — as well as an orchestral retread that sounds like Wheatus somehow snuggling between "Carol of the Bells" and Tchaikovsky in some holiday concert hall.

Key tracks: "Christmas Dirtbag," "Feels Like Christmas" (with Gabrielle Sterbenz), "Mean Christmas"

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 ornaments

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter/X @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 2023 Christmas albums feature Brandy, Cher, Creed guitarist Tremonti