There's not a heck of a lot out there to help me suss out what's going on with these folks. Best I can figure out is that this is a working Southern California band and that this 2018 holiday collection is their first actual album. They appear to be led by songwriter Leilani Villamor, and the members of this group have played with everyone from the Grateful Dead to Sublime. Soundwise, this is a preposterously eclectic album, encompassing everything from blues to reggae to jazz to Eastern European folk sounds -- in other words, something an old-school record company would rather slash its collective wrists over than release. Fortunately, actual music listeners are more open-minded. I'll grant up front most folks don't come to Mistletunes for the semi-classical takes on "Bring a Torch Jeanette Isabella" or "O Little Town of Bethlehem" on offer here, the folk-jazz "Patapan," or the solo piano "Lully Lullay." And definitely not the straight pop reading of the non-Christmas tune "Somewhere Out There." But I'm all on board with the Latin syncopation of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," the world beat of "Noel," better known as the first such song, the white-guy reggae of "We Three Kings," the bluesy ballad takes of "Midnight Clear" and "Holy Night," and the minor-key fiddle rendition of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Things wrap up with a droning synth-orchestrated version of "Emmanuel," which isn't immediately catchy but is growing on me. Clearly these folks don't spend much time worrying about target audiences and chart placements, but I can imagine springing this on an unaware gathering and having them warm to it.
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