Jingles and Bells, Ben Rector (self-issued)

Ben's a folky-poppy singer-songwriter from Nashville who pushed out this six-song EP of old favorite carols for 2012 on NoiseTrade. While you can get it free, he asks for a contribution to support the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. Not particularly rock-oriented, it does fine as a contemporary pop outing, consisting of mostly sedate arrangements of "Let It Snow," "White Christmas," "Silent Night, "Away in a Manger" and "Auld Lang Syne," but "Jingle Bells" is a nicely uptempo take with a live-in-the-studio feel. Check it out for yourself at NoiseTrade, or click to grab from Amazon.