This indie band from Raleigh, NC, actually made it as far as a contract with Merge Records before falling back on their own initiative during their decade-long career. In 2012, they recorded this entire album of original Christmas songs, and it's worth hearing; I wish I'd known about it last year, in fact. Solid indie-rock-pop, not quite power pop as it lacks the brashness of that genre, but frequently uptempo and always melodic. "When It's Cold" is a vocal workout on the topic of the weather heralding the holiday, "Xmas In New York" is a mellow shout-out to urban holiday celebrations, "I Hear (Click, Click, Click)" is a bouncy opener about anticipating the holiday, "Thru That Door" is about the arrival of Christmas, "Hold Me Tight" is a romantic holiday ballad, and "Lonely Light" is a soul-inflected slow song treading some of the same ground. "Melt Our Way Out" is the band's way of escaping the snow, "Christmas Dan" is a nicely retro sax-led tune about that quirky local guy who celebrates the holiday by stringing candy canes on his Trans-Am, "Christmas Clown" is a kind of Everly Brothers tribute, "Oh It's Christmas" is self-explanatory, and the toe-tapping instrumental "Journey To Christmas Island" closes things out. Click through to Amazon and grab this.
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