Snow Covered, The Very Most (Village Ten Collective)

Boise, Idaho's finest indie-pop-rock band has been covered here before, and for 2011 they're pushing a four-song EP, each number an apparent band favorite by other artists. Now check out the roster, in descending order of familiarity: The Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick," the Wombles' "Wombling Merry Christmas," Vashti Bunyan's "Coldest Night of the Year" and Gorky's Zygotic Minci's "Christmas Eve." This tells you that these folks are poppy, precious and obscure, but it's the music that tells the real story -- it's warm and intimate, yet energetic at the same time. Their non-ironic "Wombling Merry Christmas" is alone worth the price of admission, especially if you don't remember the original of this kids-music classic. "Little Saint Nick" is simultaneously familiar and obscure, with only its surf-and-cars lyrics left intact from the original. I've never heard the other two songs before this, and I suspect they may suffer in comparison now that I've heard this very capable combo (and a few of its friends) perform them first. Grab it from iTunes (click the cover) or Amazon, you'll be very happy and the Idaho Foodbank will thank you as well.