A New Old-Fashioned Christmas, The Trekky Yuletide Orchestra (Trekky)

I went looking for this thinking it was going to be some kind of Star Trek-related novelty (yes, I know the "true" fans like to be called "Trekkers"; in my world a Trekky is somebody who insists on being called a Trekker) but no, Trekky is a record label of indy folk-pop-rockers based in Chapel Hill, N.C., and this is a Christmas record made by what appears to have been the label's entire roster as of this album's 2006 release. It's 12 familiar songs and carols done in a sort of chamber-pop setting with a few inventive touches to the arrangements and a certain spontaneity of performance. It's not bad, but there's not much in the way of rock 'n roll attitude here, other than a nicely rocked-up version of Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You." If I had to do the Venn diagram, I'd put Bright Eyes to one side, Polyphonic Spree to the other, and overlay these guys a little toward the Bright Eyes side. A visit to the website shows that the Orchestra plays gigs in the label's hometown region at Christmas time, so this album does serve as a souvenir for the folks who encounter them live.