Everyday Is Christmas, Sia (Monkey Puzzle/Atlantic)

Not being a hit radio kind of guy, people like Sia, who makes her own music but also lurks in the background writing songs performed by such folks as Beyonce and Rihanna, manage to dodge my radar easily. Maybe I should pay better attention the rest of the year, if this 2017 Christmas album is anything to go by. Sia had help writing this album from disc producer Greg Kurstin, who has produced and written for Adele among other worthys, and while pop is the order of the day, it's modern pop with lots of charm and plenty of rhythm. Things start out promisingly with the jaunty "Santa's Coming For Us," and then "Candy Cane Lane" steals shamelessly from the Phil Spector Christmas album, but with a clean modern sound. "Sunshine" is more of the same. "Snowman" and "Snowflake" change up the tempos, going midtempo and ballad respectively, and the title song is more of a power ballad. "Underneath the Mistletoe" and "Underneath the Christmas Lights" let Sia show off her pipes, and "Ho Ho Ho" makes a bouncy soundtrack for a pirate Christmas, given the lyric "Ho Ho Ho and a bottle of booze...." That leaves the uptempo "Puppies Are Forever" to round things out. Lyrically there aren't any surprises, but that is hardly ever a dealbreaker with holiday music. This is one you can just throw on without worrying about playlists.