St. John’s-based Land of the Lakes (husband and wife Danielle Hamel and Matthew Thomson) makes fun, thoughtful pop records. full of fuzzed out guitars, dreamy melodies and synths.

In 2020 they released their version of the Vince Guaraldi and Lee Mendelson jazzy holiday classic Christmas Time Is Here from Charlie Brown’s Christmas.

It’s a perfect sort of cover — it’s faithful enough to the original that it triggers nostalgia but different enough that it feels new. I’ll happily be listening to it all season long.

And, when the holidays are over, I’ll be listening to Land of the Lakes 2023 release Two States of Mind. The 11-track album came out last April and is definitely worth your attention.

Also check out It Could Be Franky (aka Danielle Hamel). Her 2022 release Edena is, begining-to-end, fantastic.

You can get Land of the Lakes’ ‘Christmas Time is Here’ on Bandcamp.

More Christmas and Holiday Music from Newfoundland & Labrador

Stay tuned for more great Christmas songs from Newfoundland and Labrador.

I'm a big fan of traditional Christmas music, I love to hear a modern rendition of a 300 year old carol but, occasionally, a brand new song comes to my attention and dominates my Christmas listening. Newfoundland and Labrador's musicians have been holding their own in both regards. I’ll be sharing local songs —both old and new— from now until Christmas in my 2023 NL Music Advent Calendar.

Follow along on Instagram stories and get playlists here.

Check out: 2022’s NL Christmas music calendar.