Review Summary: No Justin, I don’t want you under my tree.
Home for Christmas highlights the forgettable, soft side of N’ Sync. Ballad heavy tunes are aplenty, enough to bring the magic of Christmas to your ears if you’re easily ensnared (cue the 90s teenage fan base). Barely any of the energetic-pop swagger N’ Sync were known for is present - it’s under wraps. The gift to their fans was filler track after filler track. Ballads are dandy, but the tacky lyrics and formulaic vocal performances do not scream of Christmas lovin’, jolly old fellas. It sounds more like a Christmas album was in the contract.
Judging it as an N’ Sync album, this is one of their weakest moments, but as a generic, crowd pleasing effort it matches the tone of Christmas music handily. The boys sing well even if the product feels soulless, with autotune-precision harmonies. Justin of course with his trademark Mariah Carey impression, always good if overdone.
It’s a cheesy album as you’d expect from the holidays, with soft vocal tones, and totes magical, Christmassy instruments. This formula is sure to hit, and is most successful in the memorable song, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - what a bop. If only more of the songs had the same infectious beats.
Songs revolve around entirely simple keyboard playing, drum beats, and typical Yuletide bells and whistles. It’s nothing to be remembered, and pales in comparison to the intricately crafted tunes of No Strings Attached, which was released two years later. This dead spot in their discography speaks of awkward growing pains. Churning out an Xmas album in the same year as their debut album may have kept them in the limelight, but it was clearly too early to craft a seasonal classic.
If you’re looking for an album to play quietly in the background while reading a novel, this is your opportunity. Either that, or take a handful of songs from this and add it to your playlist. That’s the magic of this album, the few memorable songs. For fans of the band, there may be something to enjoy for the holidays. For everyone else, I recommend listening to some more modern music, and skipping this cash grabby album this Christmas.
