"This Mess We're In," Sofia Talvik (self-issued)

It's been so many years since Sofia started releasing annual Christmas songs that I can't even begin to link you to all our previous reviews. For 2020, the Swedish singer-songwriter ties the holiday to the pandemic pretty overtly, starting with the title, and takes her usual dark view with just a little bit of hope at the end to leaven the experience. It's a nice midtempo pop-rock ballad with just a touch of Americana to it. It's a pay-as-you-wish entry at Bandcamp. For the Talvik completists among you, she also released an EP, Notes For Christmas, with this single, two of her most recent Christmas singles, and an otherwise unreleased song, "Jul, Jul, strålande jul," a traditional Swedish song sung in the original language, and also in German.