A great Christmas album evokes feelings of nostalgia mixed with holiday cheer. It is that duality that creates a sense of unity this time of year.

Dean Warham and Britta Philips, both members of Luna, have been collaborating on songs with Sonic Boom, also known as Peter Kember, for the past 15 years but consistently found themselves drawn to Christmas melodies. This past week the group released a collection of covers to capture the holiday spirit on their new record “A Peace of Us”.

As the title suggests, the group is hoping the album fosters a sense of peace during these more unsettling times.

“What I like about the songs is that they have this little magical world that’s kind of nostalgic for me and brings me back to good childhood memories,” said Warham. “Christmas is kind of this fantasy to escape from hardships.”

On their opening track, “Snow Falling in Manhattan” a cover from David Berman’s Purple Mountains. The trio pays homage to Berman after he took his own life once the album was completed. The most memorable verse quoted by the group looks at the legacy great musicians leave behind — ‘songs build little rooms in time/ and housed within the song’s design/ is the ghost the host has left behind’. The song itself jingles with an upbeat tone and offers an introduction to the rest of the album.

“I think it’s quite a warm record in many ways, even though it deals with some issues. It looks at losing your job at Christmas, not having money for presents. These are the realities of Christmas,” said Kember. “But essentially, I think [the album] is about immersing yourself in something enjoyable for a little bit… And you really feel you’re going on this journey.”

Warham, Philips and Kember found their decades-long friendship to be a springboard to crafting an album that shared their common goal of wanting to bring more joy into the world.

The three musicians come from legacy bands that have shaped modern alternative rock. Warham was one of the founding members of Galaxy500 and Luna, Philips was the voice behind Jem and the Holograms and Luna, while Kember was a founding member of Spaceman3. Each member lends their artistic touch to the deconstructing of traditional Christmas tunes, as well as to the subsequent rebuilding of those songs into tracks that seem to find a silver lining during even the darkest of times.“A Peace of Us” contrasts inherent human sadness with the happiest time of year and turns it into music.

Just like the three musicians who have come together to seek peace in a harsh society, they ask their audience to connect with one another. “People connect through music,” said Philips. “I’d argue all art is about conversation on some level. But the connection is through music.”

order A Piece Of Us HERE