Impressing in both its superb original songwriting and covers of Christmas classics, What Stops Time is an alluring new EP from Shiny Shiny Black, a Goshen, Indiana-based band led by wife-and-husband duo Amber and Nate Butler. The songs within are ideal for the winter season, melding intimate folk warmth with harmonious vocal layers and festive, electrified textures. The award-winning duo’s reflective vocals and classic guitar tones create a heartfelt, immersive listening experience throughout the six tracks.
A spirited, bouncy rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” opens the EP, delighting especially in its jazzy piano breeziness and playful vocal harmonies. The two-minute turn is impactful with its title-touting charm and doo-wop ensuing vocal feelings. The band’s original songwriting shines next, with the lovely “What Stops Time.” This gem of a title track navigates from radiant piano and twangy guitar into an introspective vocal dreaminess, yearning to “reside inside this moment.” The mid-point approaches with magnetic allure, as jangling guitars rouse into a fervent “daylight shines through the blinds” moment of hooky catharsis.
The EP’s other two covers also enamor, from the balmy folk and twangy rock intertwining within “Anywhere My Love” (sporting excellent strings as well) to the organ-loving “Winter Wonderland.” The band’s own Christmas track “Some Kind of Christmas” is another standout — stylish in alternating between woodwind-laden warmness and rock-rousing admissions of a “broken kind of Christmas tonight.” EP finale “Lights On (for Christmas)” is a great original too, moving from throbbing synth intrigue into festive, frolicking effervescence. Shiny Shiny Black’s What Stops Time is a stellar showcase of both original songwriting and fantastic takes on Christmas classics.
