We are smack dab in the middle of the holiday season. Christmas is only 9 days away and I am feeling festive. In fact, as I type this, I am enjoying the multi-colored lights of my tree while watching sappy holiday movies in Christmas-themed pajamas.

When not binge-watching holiday movies so sweet they could give Scrooge a toothache, I have been listening to Christmas music. Obviously, there is no better time to share one of my all-time favorite Christmas albums with you than right now, when so many of us are in the Christmas spirit.

Bright Eyes has always been an exercise in extraordinary fandom for me. The moniker in which Nebraskan singer/songwriter Conor Oberst has used as a vehicle for his music for over a decade, Bright Eyes began as a solo act and grew to include a rotating lineup of multi-instrumentalists and even a full orchestra at times.

Bright Eyes is an exploration in gritty folk, country, indie rock, and sometimes even electronica. Oberst’s music has always been written with a biting, harsh, aching honesty that instantly hooked me and never — not even once — let me go.

From the very first time I heard Bright Eyes, back when I was in the ninth grade, I knew I had discovered something special that would stay with me. So many years later, and I have proven myself right. I still go back to the earliest recordings I heard of Conor Oberst’s, of which I still know every single word, and I pour over his new releases.

The release of Bright Eyes’ “A Christmas Album” delights me to absolutely no end. The album was released in 2002 and I have listened to it every holiday season since. The only disappointment of this album is its length, at just over 30 minutes. However, it is beautiful and worthy of several listens.