ALEN HIT dialled up the retro warmth on Love is the Answer (Christmas Version), the sugary, spirit-lifting rework of his coming-album centrepiece. A nod to the old-school crooners but delivered through the lens of 90s-coded pop sincerity, it’s the kind of track that lets sentimentality run wild without tripping over its own sincerity. He doesn’t so much tiptoe around cliché as wrap it in sleigh bells and invite you to believe in something soft for once.
There’s a reason the track sits so comfortably in the quasi-guilty pleasure realm. The honeyed harmonies and full-fat big band motifs have the same effect as watching a Christmas romcom you’ve seen a hundred times. It’s warm, a bit ridiculous, and unreasonably comforting. His vocals glide through the doo-wop-tinged arrangement like he’s fronting a boy band who finally let the strongest voice go solo. The nostalgia clings to the track like tinsel on a pub carpet, but it works. And when the seasonal elements kick in, there’s a blast of festive heat that lands somewhere between cinematic escapism and that fleeting belief that maybe the world can be less cynical for three minutes and twenty seconds.
After years away from the release cycle, ALEN HIT’s return marks more than a seasonal gesture. Following high-profile TV appearances on The Voice and X Factor, and a near brush with Eurovision glory, this is the first step towards his long-anticipated 2026 album. If Love is the Answer (Christmas Version) is anything to go by, it’ll be loaded with theatricality, rich pop hooks, and a full-throttle embrace of emotion.
Love is the Answer (Christmas Version) is now available on all major streaming platforms via this link.
Review by Amelia Vandergast