Merge Records Readies Holiday Compilation Snowed In for 13 November

Merge Records has a new holiday album on the way. Snowed In: A Merge Records Holiday Album is slated for digital release on 13 November, Pitchfork reported. A digital release means the songs are sold and streamed online, through download stores and streaming services.

The record is a sequel to You Wish, the label's holiday album from 2019. It is a compilation, so it gathers songs from several artists on one set rather than telling a single story from start to finish.

Several of the tracks are new. The Tubs contribute "I Am an Elf," a song written for the set. The New Pornographers offer an original song called "Some Wings," and Superchunk contribute "Shortest Day of the Year," also an original. Charlotte Cornfield performs "Jingle Bells."

For listeners who look forward to a new seasonal album each year, the appeal is simple. Three bands with new songs, plus a holiday standard from another artist, all in one place. The release date gives buyers and streamers about two days' notice from the day this was reported.

Holiday compilations are a familiar part of the release calendar. Labels use them to give fans a reason to return in the weeks before the end of the year, and to bring artists from one catalogue into a single listening session. Those are the basic reasons a label puts out a record like this, and Snowed In follows that pattern.

Anyone who wants to hear the set can look for it on digital stores and streaming services from 13 November.