I haven't encountered Mariah the Scientist before this, but this 2022 synth-pop-soul ballad is quite an effort, an evocative set of lyrics to an electronic symphony about remembering a relationship that apparently went south shortly after the memories the song describes were formed. Great stuff.
December 2022 Archives
Run over to Bandcamp and grab this Los Angeles band's cute semi-folk via Beach Boys take on not being Christian for Christmas and being OK with that. Absolutely adorable. UPDATE: Forgot to mention this song's proceeds will benefit Family Promise of Cobb County, GA, an interfaith effort to combat homelessness during the holidays.
Mac has a history of dropping these casual attempts at Christmas songs, so here's his 2022 entry. Don't think there's any independent audio.
Members of the Philadelphia Eagles joined with Charlie Hall of The War On Drugs to produce this seven-song EP to benefit the Children's Crisis Treatment Center of Philadelphia. Other Philly musicians include Lady Alma and members of the Hooters, Dr. Dog, MeWithoutYou, Pissed Jeans, and Sun Ra Arkestra. Being that the vocals are mostly by football players, you might correctly assume these performances aren't going to be the definitive versions of these covers, but it's surprisingly listenable, although Philly sports references abound through these performances. Still, props for using the Drifters' arrangement of "White Christmas," the Elvis version of "Blue Christmas," the Otis Redding arrangement of "Merry Christmas Baby," and the Specter takes of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," though the latter takes more from hometown favorite Bruce Springsteen's performance. Add to this The Silver Ages turning "Silent Night" into an Eagles cheer and the team's staff announcer Merrill Reese reciting "The Night Before Christmas." The album's website emphasizes pricey package deals with included swag, but it's downloadable and streamable.
Regina's best known for duetting with Peabo Bryson on "A Whole New World," the big hit from Disney's "Aladdin" movie. For 2022 she drops this solid 90s-influenced soul/gospel album with participation from members of her family. It's mostly pop-soul, more for the easy listening crowd, but it's a lively performance from front to back. She duets with her daughter Sydni Battle on an original tune, "A Baby Changes Everything," a solid soul ballad, and adds Nyla Battle and Ronald Scruggs to "The First Noel." The single from the album "Cradle in Bethlehem" is more of a gospel tune, a diva turn on "Silent Night" opens the album, and similar versions of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "O Come All Ye Faithful," "Away in a Manger," are here, along with a jazzy take on "Auld Lang Syne." The album wraps with "I Had To Leave (A Song From Bernie)," a tribute to Regina's brother who worked as a producer for the album but passed before it was completed. In my view, her dancehall reggae take on "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is the keeper from this album, and will be for most Mistletunes readers.
Kadhja is a modern soul performer who's been around for about a decade, and for 2022 dropped this six-song EP featuring four original tunes, the bouncy title song and the midtempo ballads"Little Christmas Tree," "It's Christmas Time," and "Keep Christmas With You." She also acquits herself well on a soulful version of "Wonderful Christmastime" and honors Stevie Wonder with her version of "Someday at Christmas." Cool modern R'nB for your playlists.
The long-running Americana act came out with this country-flecked original for 2022, and it's aces, especially if your musical hometown is Nashville. Downloadable, or you can just enjoy the animated lyric video.
We've had Robbie's work here before, and for 2022 he dropped this hip-hop holiday video that keys off the classic "Visit From St. Nicholas" for its story line. Doesn't seem to have any independent audio available, though.
Here's an all-star conglomeration offering a 2022 tribute to the author of this popular soul Christmas classic. Folks like Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, RIchard Marx, Melissa Manchester, Lamont Dozier Jr., Frieda Payne, Florence LaRue and others combine with an LA-based band for a full-blown pop version of the song. If you enjoy this, contribute in some way to the Donny Hathaway Legacy Project, which supports other music-based nonprofits in their work to help musicians. Or just grab it from Amazon.
Never heard of Imogen before I stumbled onto this fabulous 2022 pop-rocker with all the attitude a title like this one will suggest. Not too late to add this to your playlists.
This Philly parody troupe dropped its latest holiday offering on Christmas Day 2022, in keeping with the tradition. This year's offering is a little lighter than previous entries, consisting of five distinct performances, two of which are mostly sketches, although "No Christmas Tree" incorporates the antique carol. That leaves the ode to compulsive dining "Eat Christmas Hams," a hard rocker whose melody I don't recognize; "The Mall at King of Prussia," a parody of "Hotel California"; and the title song, which takes off from the Talking Heads' "Life During Wartime." The usual warnings about hobbyist recording and performance apply, but that doesn't take away from the listening pleasure. It's on Bandcamp.
Rudolph has to take his holiday break from the site early this year, though there will likely be more posts after the weekend. For now, I'd just like to acknowledge the folks who are still reading what I have to say about Christmas as seen through the prism of rock 'n roll, though that descriptor is becoming ever less relevant to the younger folks who remain the target audience of the music industry. Nevertheless, I press on. Given the increasing obsolescence of the software that powers this website, I'd like to note that one of my ambitions for the site has been to serve as a historical source, so if you're feeling it, or you don't have much to do because you got locked out of Twitter, try grazing the website by clicking on the date links or the genre links in the left sidebar. Since I sometimes wax topical in my posts, you might find it interesting to see what was concerning us all at some earlier time. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Oh, and my usual Christmas present of something that makes you go hmmm....
This Atlanta indie-rock band actually released a cover of "Last Christmas" a couple of years ago, and they've included it on this 2022 EP featuring a sweet midtempo number called "Christmas Calling (Jolly Jones)," about which I had trouble with the lyrics for some reason, but it's a great original sound. UPDATE: Stubby reminds me that this is a Norah Jones original. End update. Rounding out the EP is a cover of "Skating," an instrumental from the Charlie Brown TV special.
The comedian and folk singer come together for this 2022 novelty rocker about whether to tell your kid that Santa's just a myth, or an amalgamation of 2,000 years of myths. It's wordy but fun.
This mostly female Toronto surf band is pretty popular in the surf scene. For 2022 they throw us a holiday single featuring the Mariah Carey classic and an original, "Marshmallow March," that is sprightly but doesn't have much in the way of holiday trappings. Nevertheless, any chance to subvert the omnipresent Carey classic with a different arrangement should be taken, and this one is just peaches. Grab it from Bandcamp or stream it.
- Norah Jones' previously released Christmas album has been reissued as a deluxe edition this year with two additional tracks, "Christmas In My Soul" and "Christmastime."
- In addition to the above, other previously released holiday albums that are being reissued on vinyl this year include Billy Idol's Happy Holidays, the compilation Holidays Rule, Scott Weiland's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year and Steve Perry's The Season.
- For completeness' sake, I'll note that Darlene Love guests on the new Chris Ruggiero Christmas LP, on the track "Grown-Up Christmas List." The rest of the album is mostly pop, so do with it what you will.
- Sharp-eyed readers may have discovered the 2022 Mistletunes playlist down there in the left sidebar. If you haven't, Treason For the Season is now available, complete with Spotify playlist. If you have a paid Spotify account, search the title in the app to avoid the ads that listening free imposes upon you.
For 2022, these British rockers popped out this midtempo ballad about keeping a space at the table for loved ones who are no longer with us. Solid heart-tugger of a song that deserves to be a classic. While looking for this online I discovered we missed out on their 2014 album Meet the Vamps that is offered in a "Christmas edition" with nearly an LP's worth of Christmas tunes added to the non-holiday fare of their debut. Check it all out.
Well, this is exuberant. Haven't encountered these folks before, but they're clearly in the surf realm, based on this two-sided single. "Los Chrismos" basically hangs its holiday hat on the shouted lines "Christmas time/Sexy time!" But that's OK. Flip side "Tipp Tapp" brings in organ and some muttered comments about tiptoeing through the forest that don't appear to have a holiday connection. Fun stuff for the playlist. From 2022.
Vivian's been around for a couple of decades, having written songs for Boys II Men and also worked with Jill Scott. For 2022 the Philly native dropped an EP of four original songs including the title song, a combined ode to Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Also included is "Around the Tree (Missing You)," about a celebration without a special person; "Everybody's Gathered," about the holiday table; and "No Holiday," another upbeat number about togetherness. She also does a diva turn on "O Holy Night," though a folky-jazzy take rather than a midnight mass showstopper. Solid R'nB singing and good originals.
We've got a long list of these guys' songs in the Mistletunes archives. For 2022 they give us a Christmas poem over musical backing as their seasonal offering. As always, it's a free download and the link offers you this year's song as well as all their past Christmas tunes.
Normally we at Mistletunes leave the old-school holiday celebration totems to other websites, but we know that many readers are old folks like Rudolph and that some of them have a sweet tooth for mid-20th century pop culture tchotchkes. With that, I'd like to note the current Car and Driver online feature, "Back in the 1960s, You Bought Your Christmas Music at the Tire Store." It's a fun feature about how Goodyear, Firestone and B.F. Goodrich used to compile Christmas albums and sell them cheaply as come-ons to bring in customers. The most interesting thing about this story is that they link to a website, Christmas LPs to CD, that takes those old albums and converts them to CD or downloadable MP3. To avoid copyright hassles, they sell actual old copies of those albums to customers and ship them with the CD, or you can download most (not all) of them. For vinyl fans, there's a hitch; they make no guarantees about the condition of the vinyl albums, they may very well be unplayable. But you have your digital copies to play. The site also has Christmas albums from Longines Symphonette, Tru Value, Disney, WT Grant, Readers Digest and more. They also have non-Christmas music available.
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Given that we once reviewed a song on an obscure local indie-rock compilation called "Merry Christmas, Debbie Gibson," I guess it's only fair that we acknowledge her first-ever holiday album, released in 2022. Given that she spends as much time in musical theatre as in the recording studio, you should expect that this is exuberant modern pop, almost show-tune-y in performance. The single from this album is "Christmas Star," an original of hers that actually dropped last year, and it's the best thing here, uptempo and fun. Should also note her other originals, a New Year's tune called "Cheers," plus "The Gift," "Jingle Those Bells," and Hanukkah-themed "Illuminate," along with an original that's not hers, "I Wish Everyday Was Christmas," and a co-write with duet partner Joey McIntyre of NKOTB, "Heartbreak Holiday," which is a solid downtempo ballad. The rest are covers, including "The Candyman," which is not a holiday tune, "Sleigh Ride," "Let It Snow," "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," a duet with Daddy Joe on "White Christmas," and a medley of "Jingle Bell Rock" with "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)." My take is that Debbie's singing is solid but she emotes way too much, making the whole album tough to take in a single setting. But most of you are grazing for playlist possibilities, so by all means grab "Christmas Star" and "Heartbreak Holiday," and I'll leave the rest for those who want it.
The nonbinary singer-songwriter drops their second holiday single in 2022, and though the title is familiar, it's a new ballad focused on the intimacy involved in waiting for the holiday to dawn. Solid pop credentials here and Smith is well-liked for their rich tenor voice.
Had this duo last year with a hip-hop rendition of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," and for 2022 they're back with a similar take on "Let It Snow." Solid soulful take, fine singing, and the rap interlude doesn't overwhelm the carol. Turns out this is an EP with these two songs plus instrumental versions of "Carol of the Bells," "Jingle Bells," and "Deck the Halls." Check this out for yourself.
I guess I missed this band's announcement that they were dropping 
Lowell, MA's Colleen Green has been around as a singer-songwriter for about a decade, and for 2022 she dropped this holiday EP featuring three moderately obscure covers and an original, "Christmas Is For Everyone," a solid indie-rocker that might remind you of Juliana Hatfield or the Breeders. "Big Surprise" is a shoegaze take on the song from "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus," "I Believe in Santa Claus" from "The Year Without a Santa Claus" is more midtempo rock, and she does a similar take on "Keep Christmas With You," which originated with "Sesame Street." Definitely worth your time and money.
Crappy bootleg video of the popular female singer-songwriter doing the much-loved carol, with the happier lyrics. She does a nice job, of course, but this is for the completists out there. No independent audio available.
The indie rock establishment was rocked, not in a good way, by the death of Low drummer Mimi Parker last month. Silversun Pickups stepped up to do this fine cover of the best-known song from Low's iconic Christmas album. Proceeds will benefit Union Gospel Mission in Mimi's name. Another event, A Very Mimi Christmas, will take place Dec. 21, 2022 at Sacred Heart Music Center in Duluth, MN, and can be viewed on YouTube for a $10 contribution.
A few years ago, we had a compilation of Nashville-based indie rockers that included this assemblage of folks on a song called "I Think We Killed Santa." The spirit of that tune persists on this EP that dropped for 2022, which includes that song and five others. Things kick off with "Christmas In My Heart," featuring Mike Fuller, a kind of slow jam number with shout-outs to Elvis, Frank and Bing; "Christmas That I Want," with Cory Taylor Cox, is a retail worker's lament about the holiday, though it has the great line "These songs are all worn out except for the Kinks"; "I Like Christmas More This Year," with Cox and Invisible Thomas, notes that the "eggnog spiked with Everclear" is a big reason for the title's sentiment; "Tired of Christmas" with Mike Fuller covers missed hookups; and "Time Loop Christmas" with Zoe Swann turns the holiday into "Groundhog Day" with a similar conclusion. Lighthearted stuff that's fun to listen to.
Shust is an established Christian rocker, and for 2022 he dropped this stately, though hard rocking, take on the Longfellow poem turned classic carol. Shust's press release stresses the religiosity of the song, but hearing it should be all you need to decide on its inclusion in your playlists.
The New Jersey rockabilly maven has a history of dropping free Christmas tunes, and 2022's number is a more pop-rocking number that likely will remind you of 70s classic rockers when they focus on singles. King lets you know he broke out his "talk box," a guitar attachment best known for its use by Joe Walsh and Peter Frampton, but don't worry, there's nothing gimmicky about the sound. Download it for free here.
Salem's mainly known behind the scenes for writing songs performed by Bella Poarch and Demi Lovato, so this mildly synth-pop, hook-heavy, current-to-2022 pop culture reference-laden number couldn't help but be well done. It's also kind of short, but that's OK too. This is an EP with two additional songs, "Thank You Note," a quasi-synth-Spector tune about getting credit for your good holiday works, and "Marry Christmas," a more contemporary-sounding number about, well, marrying Christmas. Nice work.
I've never heard of Vilray before, but Rachael Price is the lead singer of Lake Street Dive, and the two of them had an album out a couple of years ago. This 2022 number is part of an album that's not released yet, though you can grab this song individually. It's a fine little number about post-breakup holiday celebrations, although you might find it a little jazzy for your Mistletunes-inspired playlists.
This is the fourth annual indie-pop hoiday compilation release by Italian radio show/music blog Polaroid, released with a name-your-own-price-tag via Bandcamp, and with proceeds benefiting the SOKOS volunteer-run health clinic in Bologna, Italy. This year we have a title song, "A Polaroid For Christmas" by A Minor Place, a strummy bit of chamber pop-rock; "You Made Me Remember My Dream" by Baseball Gregg, a power-pop ode to dreaming originally by Marlene Belissimo; "Shining Light" by Waving Blue, a moody guitar ballad; "Bolle" by Setti, a folky strum in Italian; the quick punky rocker "Christ Almighty" by The Photocopies; Domino's "Herr Wade," a German pop number with banjo; "Lontano da qui" by Deine Mutti, a dreamy guitar-pop number in Italian; "As the Days Change" by Grand Drifter, an English-language pop shuffle by an Italian band; "When We Are Together" by Prim, covering The 1975 in a solo guitar-vocal rendition; "Spend Christmas With Me" by My Lo-Fi Heart, a stately bit of synth-pop; and DJ Minacola's "Jingle Bells," an extremely slow playing of the melody on a single synthesizer, which is not how you expect to hear this particular song. This is very, very indie-sounding, but I think folks will find plenty to like here. UPDATE: Stubby writes in to note that there are four volumes on Bandcamp, but Polaroid has been doing these comps since 2007.
Kenny Stockard is a Pittsburgh-based soul/gospel singer with a few releases under his belt, and for 2022 he dropped this EP with four holiday originals. "None Giftless" seems to be the song that's being promoted, and it's a solid soul ballad about the meaning of holiday gift-giving. "Sing a Song" is a more gospel number that doesn't hearken back to the Earth Wind & Fire number of the same name, "Truth Is" is more gospel, and "Big Tree" is a fine uptempo number about the arboreal traditions of Christmas. This latter one is my pick from the collection.
This is a bunch of UK punks from other bands pulling together a side hustle, and they have a few records out before issuing this one, a 2022 single featuring "Violent Night (A Christmas Tale)." No surprise, it's a cool punk rave-up with horror-movie vibes from the title. Flip side "Red Rag to a Bull" is in a similar vein but is not Christmas oriented, near as I can tell. Grab it on Bandcamp. There was vinyl but it's all gone now.
Alicia has had a couple Christmas tunes out before, "Little Drummer Girl" and "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)," but this is her first full album of holiday tunes, out for 2022. While she sports a fine expressive voice, she's also a fine instrumentalist, prone to demonstrating this with forays into jazz, which she does here on the title song, "Christmas Time Is Here," "Favorite Things," and the previously released version of "Chestnuts." Her R'nB roots show through on "Please Come Home For Christmas" and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," not to mention the feature cut from this collection, "December Back 2 June," an Alicia original that receives help from Tayla Parx. She also gets writing help from Natalie Hemby on the ballads "You Don't Have to Be Alone" and "Old Memories on Christmas," and from Emile Sande on "Not Even the King." The album closes on a traditional version of "Ave Maria" sung in Latin. More on the pop side than we like here, but this album features strong original tunes that deserve to live past this holiday season.
This Philly band pulls together a solid Americana-themed rocker for 2022 that owes more to the Replacements than the Mavericks performance-wise. You can download it from Amazon or find it on YouTube.
Apparently this 2022 collection has been out for months now, following on from a previous single release of "It's Christmastime," a contemporary pop rocker with a tiny bit of gospel roots. Olivia's an "American Idol" refugee, so that gives you an idea of what to expect: a pop diva approach to the originals and covers included here. Except you wouldn't be entirely right; several of these numbers are pretty crunchy rock workouts. It's a stretch to call this an album, given that there are multiple versions of two songs on here, so consider it a long EP, seven distinct songs across nine selections. She does a showstopper cover of "O Holy Night," thrashes out on "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," and offers jazz and rock versions of "Jingle Bells." Adding to the single, new songs include the sprightly "Cold Toes," the jazzy "Christmas in LA" that is later backstopped by a rock version, and the heavy rock number "Boots For Christmas." Though this is nominally still a pop record, even Mistletunes regulars will find something they like for their playlists.
Clay used to have a band called Stratocruiser, whose past Christmas glories have been etched in electrons here at Mistletunes. Clay has been solo for a few years now and for 2022 he got back in the Christmas habit with this cool power-pop effort. Not too hard to guess what a song with this title is about, but a solid melody and beat means this needs to be in your playlists.
Hey, we just had these guys on the site with "It's Christmas Time," and they're already back with a second 2022 Christmas single, a mid-tempo rocker about a girl whose birthday is December 25. Like the other, it's on Bandcamp.
I have never before heard of The So So Glos, but they're from New York and they got Spider Stacy of the Pogues to perform on this 2022 rock holiday anthem, so good on them. It appears to only be available on YouTube for now, so here's the video.
I have not yet watched this special, owing to the fact that I'm old and I remember the legendary (?) "Star Wars Christmas Special," but I did look into the soundtrack, where I found almost entirely movie soundtrack-type instrumentals except for two excellent pop-rock tunes featuring the Old 97s, who are already on the Christmas tip. They back Kevin Bacon on a solid midtempo "Here it is Christmastime," which they previously released without Kevin, but the winner of this two-horse sweepstakes is "I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)," a solid jangle-rocker with hilarious lyrics written from the viewpoint of an alien who just landed on Earth and is trying to explain the holiday. This you will want on your holiday playlists. The PowerPop blog notes that the show also includes airings of the Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" and Fountains of Wayne's "I Want an Alien For Christmas," though these don't appear on the official album. Oh well, download or add to your streaming queues the two songs reviewed here and be a little better off for it.
There's nothing new about rocked-out Irish/Celtic bands, as readers of this site will confirm. Still, it's far from a common genre in the regular music scene, and even less so in the Christmas realm. Enter Pittsburgh's own Bastard Bearded Irishmen for 2022 with an EP of Christmas fare, seven fairly common holiday tunes in their thrashy, punky, but still Celtic-flavored style. For those who want to go heavily on the Irish heritage, there's "Christmas In Killarney," "Auld Lang Syne," and of course how could they not cover the Pogues' "Fairytale of New York." "I Saw Three Ships" is another good tune to which you might want to raise a pint of Guinness. That leaves the more punky sounding "Must Be Santa," "Holly Jolly Christmas," and "Santa Baby," for those who aren't put off by guys singing the latter. There's a "bonus track," but it's just studio jive and patter. Great work by these guys, and this will certainly whet a few appetites to hear them on St. Patrick's Day.
Alexis is a West Virginia native now based in Philadelphia, and she apparently is known for performing on "American Song Contest." For 2022 she dropped this solid mid-tempo contemporary pop-rocker, straddling old-school girl group and modern diva exercises quite ably. 80s mavens will be happy to hear this track took place with the help of the Hooters' Eric Bazilian, but the sound is more modern radio fare than an 80s vibe.
Sleeping At Last is a one-man band with a lot of TV placements of his original songs and a history of Christmas recordings. For 2022 there's an EP, two versions of the original title song, a pensive ballad calling out references to "It's a Wonderful Life," and a cover of "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." It's too late for "Snow" to turn up on an episode of "Grey's Anatomy" this season, but it and "Midnight" are the kind of tunes you'd expect to hear there. Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music; no Amazon at this writing.
Popular pop-punkers The Dollyrots have a history with Christmas, which we've chronicled here at Mistletunes. For 2022 we get a new free single from them with this great punk thrash original song about coupling for the holidays. Flip it over (OK, not literally) and you get the Dollys playing around with their family on "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)." If you're on their mailing list, they probably sent you free download links; if not, head over to Bandcamp for it.
Lola's the daughter of Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke, and for 2022 she pops out this banjo-led original about Christmas by one's self. This one tramps all over my imaginary border line between rock and country, but I'll let this one stand because I like it. It's part of a live EP on Jack White's label, so you can be assured vinyl is available, but it streams and downloads too. We had her here back in 2018 with a single, btw.
I am remiss in not keeping up with Elizabeth Chan, whose first single and album I plucked from obscurity to billboarding it across this very website more than a decade ago. She's the self-appointed Queen of Christmas, a title she earned by dedicating her entire music career to holiday-themed music, with occasional detours into Halloween and Thanksgiving. Apparently she's dropped a new holiday album filled with original tunes every year since and bestowed upon herself the title Queen of Christmas, a title she successfully defended in court against Mariah Carey earlier this year. So here we are in 2022 with this new album, nine more new originals in a modern contemporary hit radio vein. Opening song "Avalanche" actually isn't very holiday oriented, covering as it does a lovers' spat, but that gives way soon enough to "Hide All the Toys," what she calls a "grinchy" take on the holiday, but which apparently isn't a new tune, having been written in 2012. "New Boss For Christmas" is a workplace wish, "Merry Merry" has her putting on her party hat, "Christmas Around the World" and "The Santa Clause" has her daughter Noelle join in on the fun, "This is My Year" is self-explanatory and has a bit of her first single "A Christmas Song" in its melody, "The Giver" is a midtempo ode to charity, and "Greatest of These Days" wraps up the album party-style. If the only thing you know about her is the Mariah smackdown, check her out, particularly if modern pop-rock is your style.
Cindy has a solid classic girl-group original for 2022 in "Hey Santa," and there's more of the same on the flip side with her cover of Shel Talmy's "Mr. Scrooge," chastening a lover who's stingy with his kisses. Grab it quick and throw both sides into your playlist.
- Amazon Music has the following items as streaming exclusives for the 2022 season: "Someday at Christmas," Lizzo's cover of Stevie Wonder; "The First Noel" by Giveon; "Blue Christmas" by Kane Brown; "Last Christmas," the Wham! perennial done by Lauren Spencer Smith; "Amazing Grace" by DVSN; "All I Want For Christmas," the Liam Payne song done by Zoe Wees; "Firebabe" by Stormzy; and "En lo Alto Gloria (Angels We Have Heard On High)" by Alex Zurdo.
- At Spotify, they've got "Driving Home For Christmas," the Chris Rea tune done by Tom Grennan; "Blanca Navidad" by Kenia OS; "Shchedrivka" by Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra; Taylor Swift's "Christmas Tree Farm" by New Zealand's Kaylee Bell; "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas For the Broken Hearted)" by Lasse Skriver, covering Roxette; "After LIKE" by K-poppers IVE; "Triste Navidad" by DannyLux; and "Must Be Santa" by Kurt Vile.
- At Apple Music, the list includes "Fields of Gold" by Ellie Goulding; "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)" by SiR; "Feels Like Christmas" by Brett Eldredge; "This Christmas" by Amelia Moore; "Santa Baby" by Muni Long; "My Favorite Things" by Elio; "O Holy Night" by RAYE; "Joyful Joyful" by Jvck James; "Hallelujah" by charlieonafriday; "White Winter Hymnal" by Spill Tab; "Wonderful Christmastime" by Emilio; "Last Christmas by glaive; "I've Told Every Little Star" by Shygirl; and "Run Rudolph Run" by King Stingray.
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From Portland, OR, this male-female duo put together a faithful cover of the Pretenders' original song for 2022. Really nice job, almost too faithful. Hie yourself over to Bandcamp to check it out.
Vol. 1 of this modern R'nB series dropped in 2020, and for 2022 we have the misnamed Vol. 2, which is simply Vol. 1 with four additional songs and minus a couple of short interludes. "Might As Well Have Coal" features guest Baby Tate in a slow ballad about a bummer Christmas. "Christmas Come Home" is the Darlene Love classic with help from Alex Vaughn; it has some flavor of the original "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" with modern touches. "Let It Snow" features dvsn slow-jamming the classic carol into a medley with "Silent Night," and then Ayanna joins the group for a straight rendition of "Silent Night." The additional cuts make for a better album, though that's little comfort to those who bought the first one.
I'd almost forgotten about the blond proto-pop-hair-band composed of twins descended from Ozzie & Harriet and Rick Nelson until I was made aware of this 2022 Christmas album. Maybe they're fresher in your mind. The producers of this album didn't want anybody to forget the lineage, as the playlist includes vintage performances of Ozzie Nelson & His Orchestra on "Jingle Bells" and Ricky Nelson repeating "Jingle Bells" and adding "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)." Then Nelson themselves give "Jingle Bells" a third airing, just to underline what's going on here. No question this is a pop move, but its particular flavor of pop-rock is fine and won't offend any grannies in the audience. Their rockabilly-flavored "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" are actually kind of cool, "Joy To the World" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" would fit in with modern adult contemporary radio, and Carnie and Wendy Wilson guest on a non-Donny Hathaway "This Christmas." The ukulele-laden "Mele Kalikimaka" is a fine change of pace, "White Christmas," "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and "Away in a Manger" get a pop-folk treatment, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" takes us on a bluegrass ride, and their versions of "Silent Night," "Blue Christmas" and "Holly Jolly Christmas" are pretty much standard arrangements. Well-performed pop music for your holiday background music needs. Should add that the brothers did a more countrified Christmas album, This Christmas, back in 2015, which I probably passed on for that reason.
I was slow to pick up on this 2022 album because I thought Switchfoot was some forgotten 70s southern rock outfit. But no, you readers probably already know they were a fairly successful mainstream rock band in the mid-2000s after getting their start in the Christian rock scene, and later gave up their major label affiliation to go indie. This new album is about what you'd expect, as much pop as rock due to the inclusion of several familiar tunes like their medley of "Silent Night/It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," "Christmas Time is Here," "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)," and "O Little Town of Bethlehem." All are fairly downtempo rock band arrangements of these songs. It's the original tunes that make this collection, however, starting with the uptempo "California Christmas," the rocked-out "Scrappy Little Christmas Tree," the power pop ballad "Looking For Christmas," the pensive "Midlife Christmas," and the boisterous "New Year's Day," a tune they've had knocking around for several years now. Oddly, the Spotify playlist includes "Hometown Christmas," a tune from 2021 that also features needtobreathe and Judah and is a solid hit radio arrangement of a sweet original tune. Apparently this was an Amazon Music exclusive last year and is now generally available, although you'll have to track it down separately as it's not part of the album.
Molly was previously on the Christmas tip with a 2019 album, and for 2021 she returns with two original tunes. "Cozy Christmas" is a nicely uptempo pop-rock confection with a slinky beat, and "December Baby" is a sweet, if mournful, ballad. Available wherever you get your music.
Happened to have on Little Steven's Underground Garage when this came on the other day and I found myself wondering why I hadn't known about it, especially when I discovered it was from 2019. Solid garage punk from these guys, all about being stuck in the city alone for the holiday. Flip it over for "Peppermint Shnapps" (yes, they misspelled it), an arguably more fun number about day-drinking on the holiday with a bit of Spector sheen added to the jangling guitars.
This is a label compilation from the New York-based I Surrender Records featuring a selection of their artists performing original punk Christmas tunes. If you've never heard of this label or its artists, this is a cool collection of high-octane holiday music. (The first four tunes all come with content warnings.) Valencia offers "How Valencia Stole Christmas," a pastiche of holiday readymades; The High Court's "Rico Christmas" is a swipe at over-commercialization; the band latewaves thrashes through "Hungover For the Holidays," because of course they do; Mattstagraham goes even faster tempo through "I Can't Keep Up With the Holidays"; Pollyanna's "Christmas Garbage" sounds like an homage to the more famous band whose name is the second word of the title; We Are the Union drops the almost-mandatory ska offering, "Yr Always Alone (On Christmas)"; Alex Amiruddin & Vinnie Caruana give us a downtempo "December 26th," which is about escaping town and not so much Boxing Day; Punchline's "Together" is a poppy rocker; and Raccoon Tour leave us with the wild farewell "Happy New Year I'm Still a Piece of Garbage." A short (tailored for vinyl no doubt) but enjoyable collection of tunes.
Once again, Cherryade Records and DJ Gareth Jones compile their annual labor of holiday love, this 70-plus minute compilation of indie-pop-rock Christmas songs from around the world. It's only available to the public on CD and only 200 copies are offered, so hie yourself over to Bandcamp soonest if you want a copy of the 2022 disc. Let's start with Birmingham's Wiince, whose "Happy Xmas (When It's Over)" disguises their Scrooginess in a poppy-grungy melody, then onto Building Rockets of Austin, TX and the classic punk "It Ain't Christmas." We get more of the same with returning artist Goddammit Jeremiah's short "Where's My Presents" and The Portrait's "Renegade Reindeer," in which the Jacksonville, FL group imagines the reindeer as a gang. Another British band, Sheffield's Get The Fuck Outta Dodge, insists that "Well if Die Hard's a Christmas Movie, Then This is DEFINITELY a Christmas Song," but only for 57 seconds. Bristol/Bath "supergroup" Candymouse get on the green transportation tip with "Leccy Car For Christmas," returning group The Hannah Barberas offer a breezy "Dancin' Santa," and Sparky's Magic Piano return for the first time since Volume 5 with "Waiting For Christmas," spacey and orchestral with a children's choir. Mouse Assassins from Luton solve the mystery of "Who Nicked Santa's Trousers," Analogue Electronic Whatever break out the synths to ask "What's For Christmas," and Arcadia do likewise on "Christmas In the 80s," as does Rodney Crowell on the sinister-sounding "Cold Christmas." Coosticks are on about celebrating a happy holiday for "Bobbi & Kayleigh," Tennessee's File Under Foliage offer the piano-led "Sleigh Comes Tumbling Down," and Toronto's Cameronoise offers a holiday-flavored power pop instrumental, "And a Star On Top of it All." Cherryade was serious about world-wide coverage, as Spain gives us The Yellow Melodies and their indie-pop-rock "Ya vuelve la Navidad," Germany goes the same way on Herr Wade's "Und sie tanzen im Himmel, France's Joni Ile offers up a cheap keyboard rendition of 1968's "Joyeux Noel," and from Japan we get yumenoma's "A Winter Romance," a surprisingly Western-sounding number if you can factor out the language barrier. Fans of Wild Man Fischer will enjoy Kawaii Sakura Trees' "Catch is Catch Can," Jimmy McGee's "All I Want For Christmas is International Socialism," and Steveless' "Think of Christmas." Back on the synths we have My Lo-Fi Heart with "Spend Christmas With Me," Ukulele Bailey is surprisingly upbeat about there being "No Christmas Pud," by which he means pudding, The Woodlice make up a wild tale about Scrooge getting caught in the "Scrooge Flume," All Ashore! mourns the British energy crisis with "In Front of the Gas Fire," and the DMs wrap things up with "For Christmas Day." This exhaustive rundown, though not of much use to those who can't score a copy, will at least allow you to see if you can find some of these tunes on your own.
Except for Tom Tom Club, nobody in the Talking Heads orbit has had much to do with Christmas until now. David Byrne has issued this song as a fundraiser for his daily newsletter Reasons To Be Cheerful, which covers important world problems that have been successfully addressed by the subjects of the stories. If you've followed Byrne's recent albums, you'll recognize the orchestral approach to the music. This is a kind of minor key warning that an uninvited guest has snuck into your home leaving "packages unattended," thereby putting the most sinister spin possible on the story of Christmas. I have a twisted sense of humor, so I dig this. Apparently this tune has been rattling around Byrne's noggin since 2013 but just received a recording and release in 2022. Only on Bandcamp.
Havanna is part of Little Steven's musical empire, and he's created a new record label for more pop-oriented stuff than is found on his Wicked Cool Imprint. The artist has several singles out in this vein. For 2022 she's given us a strong, uptempo (and short -- only 2:07) pop-rocker with entertaining lyrics about a stoned brother, a creepy uncle and a bitchy grandma all leading up to a possibly gay daddy's celebration of the holiday. Check this one out.
We've had the Bongo Boy label here in the past with previous installations of their holiday compilation series, so this is 2022's entry in the series. Boys 'n' Barry kick things off with the nicely uptempo rocker "It's Christmas Time," featuring a fine female lead vocal. The New Bardots (previous participants in this series) go 70s hard rock on "Never Too Much Christmas," Mark Winter's "Christmas in the Air" has that 70s soft rock thing going on, "Every Christmas Side By Side" by Courtland Thomas is a cool rockabilly/stride tempo number, Annemarie Picerno makes a fine bluesy mama on "Mr. Santa," and Gar Francis has a midtempo ballad, "Palaces," that has a Fleetwood Mac feel to it. Wayne Oliveri goes all midnight mass on a bell-filled ballad, "Glad It Is Christmas Time Again," and fires up the synths for a poppy "I Love Christmas Time," David Scott Kocher gives us some Nashville holiday verities on "Christmas Time in the Carolina Country," STUDEO goes girl-groupy on "It's Christmas Time Again," and as always, Jackie Kringle & the Elves' title song is part of the proceedings. You can grab it from Amazon or the label website.
