Our Mass Mix contributors are embracing the holiday season with a variety of songs. From hip-hop that feels like a home-cooked meal to a breezy indie-reggae song that sounds like a sunny day, here are the songs we're thankful for this month.

Lula Wiles, "It's Cool (We're Cool, Everything's Cool)"

When I get on the Concord Trailways bus from South Station, headed for the folks in the White Mountains, I'll take a long moment to think about the new music that the whole family needs to hear. Lula Wiles will CERTAINLY be on that list. Three Mainers trained at Berklee with something for everyone; their edgy lyrics about the nightmare of online dating are perfect for my sister, the tight harmonies get my theater-loving Mom, and it all works for Dad, a die-hard fan of Appalachian folk. I'm thankful that we live in a city with a top notch music school and long history of scrappy folk musicians. The two trajectories combine perfectly in one of our greatest local groups this century. -Phil Jones, Afternoon Host, 88.9 WERS

YBN Cordae, “Bad Idea”

Rarely does a hip-hop song have the warmth to encapsulate a home-cooked meal, but YBN Cordae’s new jam, “Bad Idea ft. Chance The Rapper” hits those notes. The song provides sunny church organs, a laid-back, head-nodding beat, and crisp soul snaps. There’s also a mellow beat pacing that gives his thoughtful flows plenty of space to be heard. Cordae’s lyrics offer words of understanding and empathy to young people experiencing homelessness and addiction: “Don’t you shed a tear / cuz they’ll be better years.” YBN Cordae is now up for two Grammy's, including this jam for Best Rap Song along with Best Rap Album for his recent full-length release, The Lost Boy. - Jared Steinberg, Staff Writer, Sound of Boston

DJ Shadow, "Rocket Fuel (feat. De La Soul)"

If you forced me to choose only one album to listen to for the rest of my life, I'd choose DJ Shadow's 1996 debut album Endtroducing..... It's groundbreaking and timeless and blends so many genres of music I love, from hip-hop to trip-hop to jazz to rock. I'm a fan, you see, so I dove right into Shadow's new release Our Pathetic Age when it dropped earlier this month. The first side hearkens back to Endtroducing....., with shades of its follow-up Preemptive Strike, and side two features some of rap's biggest names. This collaboration with De La Soul is a standout, and the video is an absolute riot. Prepare for liftoff. - Adam 12, Weekdays 11am-4pm, ROCK 92.9

HAIM, “Hallelujah”

As we head into the holiday season, I’m grateful for songs that celebrate family bonds, a topic that I wish was central to more music. That means I was excited for the new song from sister band HAIM, about experiencing tragedy and getting through it with the help of family. I was struck by this lyric about three sisters facing the world together: “Laughing together like our thoughts are harmonized/ Been that way since ‘95/ Give me direction when it is hard to fight/ Three roads, one light.” Maybe that's also because I'm one of three siblings, but hopefully it's a universal message for anyone. – Meghan Smith, Digital Producer, WGBH

Backxwash, “BLACK MAGIC”

Apparently winter is still the hexing season for me, especially when I’m listening to Backxwash’s latest single, “BLACK MAGIC.” The production, courtesy of Backxwash themself, is capital-N Nasty. She walks the line between power and terror with it, spooky choral noises embellishing the bassline during the first verse before launching into bass-heavy swells. It’s crunchy, minimalist drums carry on beneath the bone shattering bass, soft piano, and super hard riffs. Lyrically this song is a declaration of power. Backxwash reshapes her personal demons into weaponry, taking agency over herself and everything in her reach. “I fuck with black magic” is the mantra, and the only proof you need is their production on this single. -Evelyn Bauer, music editor at The Boston Hassle

Angel Olsen, “All Mirrors”

I'm grateful for Angel Olsen's evolving sound. Each song takes me on a musical journey rooted in discovery and transformation. "All Mirrors," from her fourth album of the same name, continues the trend in 2019. The song uses heavy synth and vacillating percussion to create a blistering atmosphere that lives between perception and reality. The result is wistful and deep, a musical expression that takes a deep dive into self-acceptance. As Olsen puts it, "There is always an element of projection in what we’d like to see in people and scenarios and in the way we see ourselves in those scenarios, with those people.” It's a challenging thought, and I look forward to taking it with me to the holiday table this year. - Stacy Buchanan, Managing Producer, WGBH

Plumes, “California”

“California” is a catchy, breezy track packed with raw vocals and brimming with influences of indie, reggae and a splash of funk. Plumes—consisting of Boston University graduates Ben Long, Tim Green and John Thorsen—echo the subtle lo-fi tone of The Vaccines and Bombay Bicycle Club. "California" is one of the new tracks the band has dropped in preparation for their upcoming album release show at Thunder Road in Somerville on December 1st. Self-describing their music as "sincere and sometimes naked," Plumes serves up a refreshing song that drips with longing for summer and sunnier days as the Bostonian winter winds begin to advance upon the city. - Alexis den Boggende, Staff Writer, Sound of Boston

Gish, "The Stitcher"

She, like the gish of her namesake, is a martial artist and spellcaster. Her music at once intimates video game soundtracks, the dreamy and ambient elements of bands like Explosions in the Sky, and perhaps classical Hellenic music. It’s dynamic and finely-sewn, a quilt of stark influences overlaid with haunting, ecclesiastic overtones. One might hear this music in a church or temple in an unknown fantasy world, appropriate as her stage name is maybe unintentionally a Dungeons & Dragons concept. “The Stitcher” examples Gish’s acrobatic approach to genre and demonstrates a voice wholly her own, one which honors her influences and builds a refuge in which they can blend from view. This, above all, is proof of her potential powers as an artist, and why you should listen now. - Al Gentile, writer for the Lowell Spin and Boston Hassle

The 2x4s, "Bridgeport Lathe"

Here's a nice 39-year-old track, as old as your author it so happens, that I feel is one of the ultimate Boston & New England underground rock tunes that ever was. What a song! Zesty rocking, nice songwriting, and electronics where they ought not to be. A dream. It's a great soundtrack to the sentiment that I want to share: I'm thankful for the bounty that is the New England underground music community. I love New England and I love New England music that is bending the rules and making me squirm, or maybe just doing it, just right. That's why I do what I do! Meg, Zach, Ry and I need to dance to this now if you'll excuse me. -Dan Shea, Publisher of bostonhassle.com