An Indiecater Christmas 2010, various artists (Indiecater)

The European indie label is back with another compilation of its own artists taking on the holiday. It's a little thinner than the two previous collections, just 11 songs, but if you've heard the previous ones you know what to expect -- lo-fi indie pop-rock. Adam and Darcie kick things off with a cover of Joni Mitchell's "River," Alli Millstein offers "White White Christmas," a ballad with just a taste of old doo-wop touches, Kate and After's "Snow Angel" reappears here, Boca Chica goes country with "Not On Christmas Eve," the Gorgeous Colors rush the kids to bed with "Hurry Up Children, Santa's Coming," Natalie Prass gets jazzy with "No Better Time," Sixties pop comes to the fore with "Snow Blitz" by Paisley and Charlie, and the Very Most return with "Christmas In July Comes Earlier Each Year," a keyboard-and-melodic-percussion instrumental that ramps up into a righteous noise with faint vocals toward the end. An interesting collection you should look into. Only available for purchase from the website for now, but the 2008 and 2009 collections are at Amazon.