Garrett Anthony Rice Sleds With a Ghost on “As Magic As The Snow”

Garrett Anthony Rice knows that Christmas wears two faces, and on his new single “As Magic As The Snow,” he refuses to hide either one. The Greystones, Co. Wicklow singer-songwriter builds from classic British pop instincts, borrowing the melodic genius of John Lennon and the whimsical streak of Syd Barrett, then filtering both through something far more private.

The story at its centre is devastating in its simplicity. A six-year-old boy climbs back up his favourite sledding hill to play with the spirit of his best friend, who died suddenly the year before. I kept thinking about how children grieve; they rarely sit still with it. They go outside and play alongside it.

Musically, Rice keeps the sled moving. A chugging rhythm drives everything forward, bright jangly swells catch the light like fresh powder, and the main hook bursts into a sweeping, anthemic crescendo built for a whole room singing at full volume. Beneath that lift sits a quiet ache, the knowledge that snow, and the people we share it with, never stay as long as we want.

It plays like a Britpop carol with a lump in its throat. So how many winters do we let melt away before we learn to hold on to whoever is sitting beside us on the sled?