"Christmas Freak" soundtrack, various artists (Gardener Recordings)

Christmas movie soundtracks are a dime a dozen, but I tend to ignore most of them as they typically compile existing Christmas song performances that we covered for their original release. In this case, we have a new-for-2021 Christmas movie with a mostly original soundtrack, so we're giving it some notice. The "various artists" tag is for the site's own housekeeping, as a small collection of folks is actually responsible for these tunes: Sean Brown & Gemma Bulos, songwriters and performers credited separately and also under the band name The New Carpenters, and Jordan Taylor Roach, who did the movie score and provides several originals and a few covers of familiar carols. Unfortunately for Mistletunes readers, the new songs here are mostly musical theater-type songs that won't resonate with listeners unless they've seen the movie (available on DVD or for rental at Amazon, iTunes and Google). "Cool Xmas" and "Cool Christmas" are the same pop ballad, one given a more traditional orchestral arrangement and the other paring back the accompaniment to emphasize pedal steel guitar. "Misfit In" is a bouncy number establishing the star's character, "I Can't Even" is a Seventies-style funk-soul tune, "Christmas Is the Very Best Day" is a pop-rocker, and "Merry Christmas Clarice" is a power pop number about eating holiday pizza with your girlfriend. Having not seen the movie, I'll reserve further judgment, but at the very least the movie's premise is distant enough from the Hallmark Channel's version of the holiday that you may wish to follow through.