Carve It Out is the pumpkin song, and it is the warmest thing in the first act. Lay down the paper, trace that grin, draw the eyes where the light gets in. It takes the whole family ritual of carving a jack-o’-lantern on the porch and turns it into a cinematic little parade, in the whimsical Danny Elfman style, mischievous but never frightening.
This is the song where the big orchestral color first shows up on the record. It opens like a music box, then grows into a full parade with pizzicato strings, celesta, glockenspiel, muted brass, and a children’s choir joining on the last chorus. I wanted it to build the way the moment builds when the candle first catches inside the pumpkin and the whole carved face suddenly glows on the step.
Here is a craft detail I am proud of. On this album, Carve It Out owns candles. The song is literally about lighting them, so every flicker and candle image lives right here. We actually went through the other songs and pulled candle references out of a few of them on purpose, so this one could keep that image to itself. That is the kind of quiet decision that separates an album from a playlist. When the same pretty word shows up in five different songs, the whole thing starts to blur. When you assign each image a home, every song feels distinct.
And it fits the bigger mission. There are plenty of old songs about ghosts and monsters, but almost none about the sweet, hands-on family traditions of the season. Carving pumpkins together on the porch is one of the best nights of the fall, and it deserves its own song written for right now, not a hand-me-down.
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Why Pre-Saving A Folklore Christmas Means the World (And How It Helps You!)
If you’ve ever wondered why artists are always asking you to pre-save their upcoming music on Spotify, here’s the secret: it’s the single best way to make sure you don’t miss a beat, while giving independent music a massive boost!
Whether you’re excited for the spooky ghost stories or the tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago, here is what pre-saving actually does for you, and for the album:
- It drops right into your library on launch day: The moment A Folklore Christmas goes live, Spotify will automatically add it straight to your Liked Songs and library. You won’t have to search for it, set a reminder, or worry about missing release day.
- It feeds the Spotify algorithm: Algorithms pay close attention to pre-save numbers. A high pre-save count signals to Spotify that listeners are eager for these songs, which helps push our holiday tracks onto official curated playlists, radio feeds, and recommendation charts for brand new listeners.
- It helps independent music thrive: Every single pre-save gives independent artists a louder voice on major streaming platforms, helping us share these rich holiday traditions and old-world stories far and wide.
It only takes one click, but it makes a huge difference!