“Lost Christmas Night” by Ronnie Martin

Ronnie Martin’s From the Womb of the Morning, the Dew of Your Youth Will Be Yours isn’t just one of my favorite albums of 2022, it’s one of my favorite albums from Ronnie Martin, period, and feels like something of a career renaissance. Given his extensive, decades-old catalog, that’s not nothing. So does that mean I’m excited for a new Christmas album from the man? Do you even need to ask?

The upcoming Bells Merrily isn’t Martin’s first holiday album. Back in 2003, he released Joy Electric’s The Magic of Christmas, which found him covering both classic carols and holiday standards like “Winter Wonderland” and “Holly Jolly Christmas.” However, Bells Merrily consists entirely of original songs that focus on the “wistful, hushed, slightly melancholy feeling of the season, reflecting on the essential mystery at its core with wide-eyed reverence and sobriety.”

That’s certainly the case with the album’s first single, “Lost Christmas Night.” Martin’s Moog is as dreamy as can be, with delicate notes drifting down like so many snowflakes. Meanwhile, his breathy vocals and lyrics paint an evocative picture of Christmas evenings of yore. In other words, it’s a Christmas classic as only Ronnie Martin could make.

Bells Merrily will be released on December 2, 2022, but is currently available for pre-order from Velvet Blue Music. And if you haven’t already, be sure to buy a copy of From the Womb of the Morning, the Dew of Your Youth Will Be Yours.