A Very Bastard Christmas, Bastard Bearded Irishmen (self-issued)

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.