My holiday song vibe is generally on the more reflective end of the spectrum — Wizzard have their place, but I’m more likely to be quietly playing Joni Mitchell’s River, morosely exploring my sadness, at the happiest time of year. Christmas is a time to think about the connections that are important to us, but I also find myself thinking about those people that we don’t get to share the season with.
The new single from New York musician B. Miles, Xmas Sox, exists in that same headspace. Emotive, delicate vocals hang like baubles in a tree, as soft instrumentation casts a fairy-light-like cast across the song’s message of loss. Inspired by the most innocuous of objects, B. Miles finds herself looking back at a connection that exists in memory now, rather than a direct, living form. Describing the song, Miles says:
‘You know how certain objects can trigger a flood of memories? For me, it’s Christmas socks—specifically, my ex’s Christmas socks. While going through a breakup, I found something of an unlikely metaphor in those socks: they’re an item everyone has, but are often hidden, just like the emotions I kept buried about our relationship. There’s a certain romance in continuing to wear something that once held such comfort and charm, especially around the holidays, even as the meaning has shifted to something more somber.’
The experience of listening to Xmas Sox evokes the memories of those that stay with us in a myriad of tiny ways… Random objects, thoughts that come to mind when we hear about a specific movie, book or celebrity, or even when the clock hits a certain time of day. Not here with us physically, but in our minds. The song gradually builds to an instrumental outro, a layered guitar solo and soft, driving beat briefly flourishing, and then evaporating just like our memories and, sometimes, the connections themselves.
Having picked up coverage from Nylon and Refinery29, B. Miles has accumulated an impressive 28-million Spotify plays, whilst appearing at venues that include the Bowery Ballroom, in her hometown. Check out Xmas Sox below: