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Our Review

The New York Room is all about textures and ambiance, and Ghosts of Christmas Past creates an ethereal, moody environment for your holiday soul. This is Matthew Ervin's baby, and the kid is incredibly creative and talented.

Ghosts of Christmas Past opens with a Goth vibe on Silent Night; the electronic church bells and dark keyboard baseline contrast nicely with Cara Lieurance's fragile vocals. Although this album will not be everybody's cup of tea, it is definitely a cool mix. The ten tracks include a few of the usual holiday suspects, but also some Ervin originals. Most strikingly, Ervin's In Winter makes two appearances; the sweet "acoustic guitar version" with Leslie Boughton's sensational, multi-layered vocal, and the darker, more electronic, Francophile version En Hiver (featuring another fabulous vocalist, Sara Dellinger). Although the piece is not a Christmas tune, strictly speaking, it is all about the winter season, and the simple melody is addictively compelling.

Tired of the same old holiday interpretations? Looking for a new age twist with dark undertones? Then Ghosts of Christmas Past may be a wise choice for your Christmas future!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2007)

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From the liner notes:

Matthew Ervin: keyboards
Cara Lieurance, Leslie Boughton, Debra Netz, Aziza Poggi, Amy Kozak, Sara Dellinger: vocals
Matt Lund: guitar

From the Website:

Matthew Ervin is the driving force and founder behind The New York Room, a self-taught musician interested more in texture and emotion than technique. A life-long fan of music & poetry, he always wished to spearhead a music project filled with these passions but without the boundaries, restraints and predictability of a band. The many collaborations have done just that, keeping the music fresh and alive with stylistic consistency but without sameness. Beyond composing and arranging music, Matthew is also a recording engineer and graphic artist behind most of the look and sound of all things related to the New York Room.

The New York Room

Ghosts of Christmas Past

Artist link

Track List