A New Thought for Christmas is everything you’d expect from a Melissa Etheridge holiday album, as she masterfully balances beloved festive favorites and rosy-cheeked originals, with her signature raw-edged vocals radiating throughout. She’s bluesy and sultry on Elvis’ “Blue Christmas” and warm and gentle on “Glorious,” backed by a chorus of angelic voices. Self-penned track “Christmas in America” sees her in fine, lamenting form, and she finds an outlet for her passionate politics in Salman Ahmad duet “Ring the Bells.”