This Way To Xmas, Make Like Monkeys (HalfApple)

Back in 2018 I belatedly discovered these guys, a New York band that had been dropping kilotons of original Christmas music in a power pop-retro 60s vein for several years by then. Turns out they've not let up and I've neglected this development. This is the 2024 installment in their ongoing project and it's more of the same, genre-wise, although I should note that sharp-eared listeners will note a fair amount of, shall we say, repurposed material among these tunes. One should not lump these guys in with the growing trend toward AI-aided offerings, however, as these tunes stand up pretty well to the best stuff by artists in the same genres. "Christmastime Is Everywhere Tonight" throws in some mellotron to give this a kind of Revolver-esque sheen, "Remembering Christmas" is a nice crunchy rocker, as is "Xmas the Spot," and "Jacob Marley Mr Scrooge" does a credible recapping of the plot of the Dickens classic in a sinister slow-tempo arrangement. "Last Call For Christmas" is a nice midtempo ode to closing time on Christmas Eve, " Christmas Bomb" and "Ring Ring Ring" are catchy power pop, "Dirty Xmas" is a poppy report of a low-budget holiday, "O'Merry, O'Malley, O'Christmas" is what happens when The Records try to record a holiday-themed Irish drinking song, and "One More Christmas" wraps things up with an around-the-hearth rocker. I should note other titles we've missed over the years like Just Add Xmas, Make Room For Christmas, Aaahh! Real Christmas, and Hand Claps For Christmas. There are also a bunch of singles but I haven't had time to determine whether any of them were included on the albums. And I'll note that despite this prodigious holiday output, they've also recorded albums of non-holiday fare as well. Click the cover to get the new one from Amazon.