Updated post: This 2008 EP was originally offered as a disc called
(Not Just Until) The Season Ends with two fewer songs via the artist's website.
Karlzen is a longtime solo alt-folk-rock troubadour with several CDs to her credit. Her version of "Run Rudolph Run" appears on the
You Sleigh Me compilation, one of the very few, if any, covers of that done by a female vocalist. The version here sounds like a different, heavier rock performance. This EP, released in 2003 and advertised as a limited edition of 200, also includes her own original, "(Not Just Until) The Season Ends," which also made an Atlantic compilation of plain pop performances. The new title song is a country rocker in which the singer complains about having to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." It's a sharp little number, but it's a few years late to be the theme song for the annual "War on Christmas" that, ironically, appears to be advertised mainly by the folks who claim to be Christmas' biggest supporters. Another song on the new version is "It's Christmas Once More," a nice acoustic rocker that appears to be another original. Along with yet another compilation contribution, a slow-drone version of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," she adds rocked-up performances of "Auld Lang Syne" and the Carpenters' "Merry Christmas Darling," both nice crunchy renditions you won't be embarrassed to play to your taste-tipper friends.
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