Country trio Pistol Annies have released their first-ever Christmas album, Hell of a Holiday. Out Friday (Oct. 22), the 13-song collection features three covers and ten originals, including the ebullient title track.
“It’s gonna be a hell of a holiday and it’s only just begun / The whole world is decorating and it’s only November 1 / They’re carving the pumpkins, they’re hanging the lights / They’re stuffing the turkey, they’re pouring the wine / Already singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ / It’s a hell of a holiday,” the groups’ Miranda Lambert (“Lone Star Annie”), Ashley Monroe (“Hippie Annie”) and Angaeleena Presley (“Holler Annie”) sing with flawless harmonies over a buoyant production.
“‘Hell of a Holiday’ is a song about how they all come rushing in at once. It’s like, summer’s over and you go to a grocery store or a Target somewhere and it’s like, Halloween candy and all the cornucopias and pumpkins, and then all the Christmas decorations and stockings,” Lambert shares in a press clip. “Like, what’s happening? I feel like Thanksgiving just doesn’t get a fair share,” she adds with a laugh, “so we wrote that song about that debacle.”
Produced by Frank Liddell and Eric Masse, the Pistol Annies’ new Christmas record includes an acapella cover of “Auld Lang Syne,” a vibrant rendition of “Sleigh Ride” and Lambert’s wistful delivery of “If We Make It Through December,” a song Merle Haggard originally released in 1973.
Hell of a Holiday is the trio’s fourth album. In 2011, the trio unveiled their debut album, Hell on Heels, which was followed by 2013’s Annie Up. The band took a hiatus for several years while the three members pursued their solo careers before reuniting for Interstate Gospel in 2018.
Hell of a Holiday is available now. Purchase physical copies or stream and download the album across a variety of digital music providers.
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