Dear December
Indie pop master Scott McCaughey\'s holiday album is powered in equal parts by his hook-heavy songwriting gift and a raft of famous friends\' contributions. Besides Minus 5/former R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck\'s pealing riffs, The Posies join the party for some melancholy power pop on \"When Christmas Hurts You This Way,\" while M. Ward and Chuck Prophet help to power the rockabilly-tinged \"See You in December.” Even Death Cab for Cutie\'s Ben Gibbard turns up for the \'60s psych-influenced \"I See Angels.\"
In early 2017, Scott McCaughey was asked to write some holiday songs for another artist’s holiday album. He became so inspired by the task that he wrote more than an album’s worth of material and decided to record that album with his group, The Minus 5, a rotating line-up of musician friends that McCaughey recruits to join him from time-to-time. The resulting album, Dear December, brings holiday cheer and a fresh batch of great songs featuring collaborations with Ben Gibbard (death Cab for Cutie), Peter Buck, Mike Mills, The Posies, Colin Meloy (The Decemberists), Chuck Prophet, M. Ward, Tammy Ealom (Dressy Bessy), Kurt Bloch, Kelly Hogan and Norah O’Connor.