We've had XO compilations in the past, so we're happy this management company thought to gift us with the link to Vol. 3 for 2010, once again free to all comers (with convenient links to Vols. 1 & 2 as well). Among the mix disc candidates from this collection are Triggers' "A Very Triggers Christmas," a nice 80s pop-rocker that has just the slightest taste of Van Halen's "Jump" in the way guitars and keyboards are used; "Riptide-Yuletide" by Prayer For Animals, a nice surf-rock instrumental workout for about two-thirds of its length, then it drops to midtempo with vocals the rest of the way; "McAdenville (Christmastown)" by The Winter Sounds takes a more 80s synth-rock tack to put across its nostalgic lyrics; Campfire OK provides a Hanukkah Alert with "The Dreidel Song," which is laid over another folk-rock song that I can't immediately identify, but it's a dramatic reworking nonetheless; and Piney Gir is represented twice here, with "A Cheery Christmas" and "Snow Snow Beautiful Snow," both old-school pop music workouts. Other cuts include "Holiday Song" by Captain Nowhere, an angular punk recitation; "Presents in June" by Pictures of Then, a slow holiday ballad; Paper Tongues' vocal rendition of "Carol of the Bells": and "A Christmas Stalking" by Transient Songs, another slow tune led by a mourning slow guitar and chanted vocals. An 11th song listed on the album art appears to have missed the cut for some reason; it wasn't in the zip file and it can't be played individually at the site any more. Oh well, can't sneeze at 10 free songs, can we? (More if you download all three volumes.)
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