On the back of its physical media, it’s stated that ‘fruitcake’ has a prep time (runtime) of 15 minutes and 46 seconds—an adorable detail to the EP.

As soon as the calendar year reaches its final month, the sound of jingling bells and cheerful choirs echo through the landscape. Christmas songs are everywhere, and you realize that every single one of them has been played year after year after year. Where are the modern Christmas hits? Where are the holiday albums or extended plays (EP)?

Well, in 2023, the call for new holiday songs was heard, and Sabrina Carpenter answered, releasing her EP fruitcake on November 17.

The EP starts off with “A Nonsense Christmas,” the remix of her hit song “Nonsense,” showing us that even under Christmas lights and snow, Sabrina Carpenter’s trademark humor will shine. The puns and innuendos in “Nonsense” have been adjusted to include Christmas imagery. For instance, the opening line in the original, “Think I only want one number in my phone // I might change your contact to ‘Don’t leave me alone,’” has been changed to, “Think I only want you under my mistletoe // I might change your contact to ‘Has a huge North Pole.’” It’s simple, it’s fun, but this EP has more to offer than just remixes.

Following the opener, “buy me presents” continues on with the same cheeky and fun direction the EP started off with. Here, Carpenter states, “If you’re not gonna race here from the North Pole to Beverly Hills // Just to keep my stocking filled (so filled) // Well, I know somebody who will.” This “somebody who will” is described as a little bit older, has a bit of a dad bod, and knows when she is sleeping or not. Her insinuating that if her man won’t treat her right then Santa will, is hilariously executed.

Track three, “santa doesn’t know you like i do” follows the same humor, but through the rhythm and beat, it begins to slow the EP down, tonally. This tone is solidified in “cindy lou who,” the emotional standout of the project. In the absence of that classic Sabrina Carpenter humor, the song dives into a feeling of jealousy about another person—this ‘Cindy Lou’has something you want. With specific imagery about long hair, red lips, and red and green lights, the song makes you really feel that jealousy; as if you’re watching someone from afar, sitting in your soft bitterness. The concluding lines, “The snows gonna fall and the trees gonna glisten // And I’m gonna puke at the thought of you kissin’ // The boy who I love who’s now in love with you // Cindy Lou Who,” cement the saddened jealousy that is expressed throughout the song.

Abruptly, we’re pushed back into a fun, pop sound with “is it new years yet?” With its upbeat production and inclusion of a hypnotic jingle bell sound, this personal favorite of mine is simply just fun. It expresses a sense of boredom with the holiday season, and wishing that it would be New Years already—a concept never really expressed in a holiday song before.

In a cover of Irvin Berlin’s classic “White Christmas” and an interpolation of “Jingle Bells,” Carpenter concludes the EP with “white xmas.” It’s a sweet and quick conclusion to the album, and her soft and airy vocals are a big standout here.

Fruitcake, in my opinion, offers a much needed dash of depth into the Christmas music landscape. It’s very modern, but has a timeless element to it, and I believe it to hold the potential of earning the title of a ‘Christmas classic.’ It has the ability to create a very potent feeling of the holidays. In particular, the production and vocals of “cindy lou who” make you feel like you’re out at night looking at Christmas lights in a flurry. It’s fun, a bit introspective and somber, cheeky, and expands the lense of what a Christmas project has the potential to be.