Drawing us in with astral piano notes, Fons & the Chargers open The Last Little Christmas Tree with situational prose and the lyrics, “On a corner Christmas tree lot, under fairy lights that blink, all the trees were going fast, quicker than you think…”
The opus narrates the tale of a small remaining tree with a broken branch that was ignored, and eventually adopted by a kid who indeed wanted that “funny lopsided tree.” The song is wholesome and metaphorical, drawing parallels to society, consumer culture but also adoption of children, animals, and of course, in this case, a plant!
The soundscape is timeless, dynamic and the track is performed with charisma, charm and pizazz that rivals the story that unfolds. Perfection is found in uniqueness and imperfections. This is truly the message that resonates. We connect with the poetic prowess and the intentional depth of the song.
Fons Slieker‘s delivery is brilliant, evocative and his high octane moments are simply imbued with genius. We learn that Fons and his wife prefer to listen to ’40-’60 traditional crooner jazz / big band Christmas music. They cite inspirations including Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Michael Bublé.
He says, “I wrote this release for my son Guus. It’s a story about an imperfect Christmas tree, who shines with love and attention, despite his shortcomings. This love is what I’d like to give my son, so that he too will hopefully shine in his life.”
The ebbs and flows of the track are sublime, and we appreciate the finale breakdown, which also serves as closure for Fons & the Chargers‘ album, Unplugged for Christmas: Songs of Snowfall & Love. We do learn that recordings were AI-assisted with SUNO but edited and remastered by hand, but the overarching result feels human.
Needless to say, we have added The Last Little Christmas Tree to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to stream the wider discography of Fons & the Chargers, and anticipate future releases!