Christmas is always a family affair. Especially for Mike Love. Though this time, it might not be the family you expect. Or at least not the same branch. After more than half a century of fronting a band with his cousins in the Wilson clan, The Beach Boys co-founder stays closer to home on his first solo holiday offering Reason For the Season, harmonizing and collaborating with All Love, a group featuring four of his children. Naturally, those apples don’t fall from the tree — so these dozen cuts come with all the warm surf-pop touches and breezy stacks o’ harmony you’d expect. An inclusive set list that pairs personable new originals like the sax-honkin’ title cut with guaranteed crowdpleasers like Little St. Nick and Jingle Bell Rock doesn’t hurt either. Bottom line: It might not bump The Beach Boys‘ Christmas discs from your playlist, but there’s more than enough Love to go around on the welcoming Reason For the Season. And that’s reason enough to give it a spin for your own family.
