One of the biggest reasons to be excited film-wise in 2012 was the excellently crafted film Laurence Anyways, by Quebec wonderkind director Xavier Dolan (Anyone who knows me, knows about my ever-growing soft spot for Canadian cinema). It took me the flight home from Montreal to finally get a glance into a film that was garnering excitement since my last visit there in October 2011. It’s clever use of 80’s and 90’s new wave pop against a backdrop of urban Montreal, along with rich colors reflected in location and costume all made the film another breathtaking slice of cinema. Xavier Dolan also has the gift of conveying a difficult tale, and giving it the right amount of tenderness in the exact spots. Well worth the wait…

This year Tracey Thorn also released a solo album. What made is especially unique was that it was a Christmas album. And while I’m cautious when it comes to Christmas albums (admittedly, Boney M Christmas Album is the perennial favorite which all others are judged), two complete listens was all it took for it to become a legitimate contender to be holiday favorite.

For those of you who have no idea of who I’m talking about, Tracey Thorn is one half of UK duo Everything But The Girl. In the 80’s they invented moody. In the 90’s they embraced electronica and with the help of DJ Todd Terry, remixed “Missing” from their album Amplified Heart (see you remember already.) “Missing” became a dancefloor anthem and if it wasn’t for that, they may still have been relatively unknown up until this point.

What was also on Amplified Heart was a song called “The 25th of December”, a light and simple tune about that exact subject. When I heard that she had done an album of Christmas songs this year, I couldn’t help but feel a twitch of excitement. Tinsel and Lights is more than a collection of standard Christmas favorites, it’s also a selection of those songs that seem like they’re least likely to be on rotation on your Ipod (Those of you who have seen The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas will understand why).

However it’s the opening song “Joy” that really has tugged at my heartstrings the most. Admittedly it was a reminder of all of the things that make Christmas great. While I’ve been busily working on the Christmas novel, it’s an original song that has completely grown on me. Shamelessly it’s been on heavy spins on my CD player. The beauty of her voice is that if you don’t bother to look at any of her photos, you could be forgiven to think that she was not a white female with a booming, soulful voice. I made that mistake when I first heard her pour her heart out as guest vocalist on Massive Attack’s “Protection.”

Tinsel And Lights indeed evokes Christmas in a pure sense, loaded with memories of light displays, hot chocolate and walks along a snow-capped Spadina Crescent. It feel partially weird to be waxing about such an amazing album seeing now that Christmas has come and gone. And even though this blog is running a little late in the Christmas department, I just couldn’t let the holidays pass by and not recommend this album.