Joy Electric

Item: The Magic of Christmas
Author: Trae Cadenhead

The Magic of Christmas

(2003)

Reviewed by Trae Cadenhead

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Label Tooth & Nail RecordsThe Phantom TollboothNovember 2003

electronic synth pop

Christmas albums are an interesting oddity. If an artist is even remotely close to being good, people are sure to snap up their Christmas CD because there aren't a whole lot of good choices out there when it comes to holiday music. Ronnie Martin AKA Joy Electric releases The Magic of Christmas in the spirit of this idea, but most people will probably find themselves wishing that his brother Jason (of Starflyer 59) had released the Christmas CD for the family instead.

Of course, Joy Electric is a musical oddity in its own right. With music composed entirely of the synthesizer work of Ronnie Martin, Joy Electric makes music for the Nintendo age. Some people love it, some hate it, but everyone must admit that it is unique. Musically, The Magic of Christmas makes no departure from previous Joy Electric ventures. These are like the majority of JE's other songs, except they have Christmas lyrics.

Most of the album's songs are tolerable, with a few fun moments coming in the form of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Holly Jolly Christmas," and "Frosty the Snowman" which can actually be quite enjoyable for the first few listens.

The problem comes in the fact that the album is composed of ten songs and runs a grand total of 22 minutes. For a full length album, this is absolutely pathetic. Add to that the fact that the songs "Winter Wonderland" and "Lollipop Parade" were previously released on albums a couple of years ago and you've got something not worth dropping much cash on. The Magic of Christmas is an interesting oddity, but a poor investment for music listeners.

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