My friends and former college classmates The Alternate Routes, who have come off a banner year of success, have released their first ever holiday track this year, “It’s That Time.”

The song is another strong, midtempo offering from the group, with a nice pop vibe and some holiday musical accents that add a subtle layer of holiday spirit as the track chugs along. Fellow Fairfield University alum Tim Warren’s vocals are as charming here as ever, and the rest of the band, including another Fairfield graduate, Eric Donnelly.

Warren and I knew each other as freshmen nearly 15 (!) years ago in a calculus class, and so it’s always exciting to see the band make progress; it’s quite fun to see my Facebook feed explode with posts about the band when something awesome happens like when their song “Nothing More” was featured in the opening of the Winter Olympics earlier this year.

Additional listening

“It’s That Time” anchors a new EP, which also features the very different sounding “Sing Me a Holiday,” a lyrical video of which is presented above. The EP is available on their online store and will officially release at the end of the week.