A side project of singer-songwriter Lauren Zettler and guitarist Cameron Mizell, Be Still was formed in 2009 during a summer tour when the two decided to record some different music... simply for the sake of doing it. The DIY-duo worked hard earlier in the year to self-release On Your Back Porch, a seven song EP under Zettler's name, and spent the rest of the year on stage supporting the effort. To change the pace a bit, they conceived Be Still as a studio side project and tackled what you might consider the antithesis of the singer-songwriter genre: Christmas music. "Sounds Like Snow" fills a small but growing niche in the holiday release section, which is typically filled with well-worn classics or glossy productions from last year's pop stars. This Christmas album is assertively indie-folk, creatively employing non-traditional sounds like backwards guitar, an egg-timer, and harmonium. Mizell's chops as a multi-instrumentalist come in handy, creating the perfect bed of textures for Zettler's pure, floating vocals on top. The result is a haunting Christmas album that covers all bases: There's the classic "I'll Be Home for Christmas," a contemporary take on "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (sung solo, sans duet), and even an original, the title track, "Sounds Like Snow."
