Let's Have a Rockin' Christmas Volume 9, various artists (Bongo Boy)

The Bongo Boy label has a long-running album series of indie artists performing Christmas songs, as you might gather from the volume number above. For 2024 they're back, starting with Fans Of Jimmy Century, who check in with three new tunes, the power-poppy "Here Comes Christmas," a cover of "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch" that's straight out of showtunes-ville, and "Santa Jamaica (Jolly Old St. Nicholas)," a not-entirely-convincing islands-influenced take on the carol. The New Bardots, a band that's figured on several previous entries in the series, provide us with new original "Pocket Full of Christmas," a cool rocker that narrates the holiday while swinging widely among various secular and religious holiday archetypes. "Christmas Eyes" by Boys 'N Barry with Wendy Tuttle is a 70s hit radio pop number about the child's-eye view of the holiday, Clark Ford and Underground Treehouse offer the pop ballad "I Remember Christmas With You," fairly self-explanatory, and Willow Layne and Countryside Studios perform "Just Me and You, December," which you will not be surprised to hear is a straight modern country lament, as is their other tune "St. Nick On Aisle Six," as well as Paula Boggs Band's banjo-led "Mistletoe & Shiny Guitars." Denise Fink and Roselyn Brinkman offer a classical flute and harp take on "Clair de Noel," which is mainly "Clair de Lune" with some carols mashed into it, and Simonne Draper's "Finesca" is another classically influenced instrumental. Steve Andrews also gets two entries on this collection, "Climb Through a Rainbow" and "We Can Sing Together," pop-rockers that don't seem to have much to do with the holiday. Dulcie Taylor has the jazzy "This Christmas Is Gonna Be Great," and Studeo wraps up with "Why Can't Christmas Last All Year," a 70s rocker with pop overtones. Given the title of the collection, the real rocking stuff is only about half the collection, but of course there are plenty of playlist candidates here. Downloads and streaming in the usual places, although Bongo Boy does offer hard copy at its website.