Darius Rucker
leaves his newly adopted country home behind for a bit of uptown swinging swagger on 2014's
Home for the Holidays
. This 12-track collection of standards -- apart from "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and "O Come, All Ye Faithful," they're all secular; apart from the nondescript original "What God Wants for Christmas," they're all well-known -- is all delivered in the mock-
Sinatra
style that has come to suggest Christmas in popular culture. The production is clean and unfussy, sparkling just enough to suggest new-fallen snow but not enough to be tacky, and
Rucker
is amiable, perhaps a bit too digitally polished but possessing enough good charm to keep things moving at a nice clip. Consequently,
winds up as a perfectly fine Christmas record, suited for those
fans who have stuck with him from
Hootie
to R&B to country. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine