Strange Xmas, Lucky Halfspeed & Robert Ledet (self-issued)

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.