Noel Wave
Forget boy bands and Barry Manilow. Christmas music may be the ultimate guilty pleasure. It’s inherently corny, unrepentantly joyful and the tiniest bit reverent — all qualities largely reviled by rock purists. And though you would be forgiven for never wanting to hear “Jingle Bells” again, Christmas songs have proven a versatile format for artists in almost every genre as well as a rite of passage for a certain stripe of singer. The following CDs represent some highlights of this year’s holiday crop.
Relient K
Let It Snow Baby … Let it Reindeer
(Capitol)
Like fellow Christmas caroler Sufjan Stevens (who gave us last year’s five-disc Songs for Christmas), Ohio’s Relient K poses a tricky question: When avowed Christians make rock music, is it necessarily Christian rock? This cheekily titled disc doesn’t give a straight answer. Singer and pianist Matthew Thiessen leads the band through a mix of secular and religious tunes, six of which he penned himself. The original “I Celebrate the Day” sounds like a standard, piano-based emo ballad until it becomes clear that Thiessen is singing to baby Jesus. Elsewhere, the band plays up its pop-punk roots, tearing through “I’m Getting Nuttin’ for Christmas” with the fervor of a slicked-up rockabilly combo and turning “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” into a rough-edged thrasher.
KT Tunstall
The KT Tunstall Holiday Collection
(EMI, available only at Target)
The Scottish singer, best known for her hit “Suddenly I See,” turns out a pretty little mix of rock-centric holiday tunes. Tunstall blends a little bit of singer-songwriter self-awareness with a heaping helping of seasonal nonchalance. She nails the Pretenders’ “2,000 Miles” and brings a smoky quiver to “Lonely This Christmas.” She proves herself an estimable musician and arranger as well; Tunstall plays everything but the drums on these six songs, moving from guitar to harmonium to penny whistle. This collection is worth picking up just for Tunstall’s duet with Ed Harcourt on the Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York,” which retains much of its grandiose folk flourishes.
The Isley Brothers
(DefSoul Classics)
Set the yule log to dim, pour that eggnog into champagne flutes and get ready for some baby-making ‘neath the mistletoe: It’s a slow-meltin’ Christmas with Ron and Ernie Isley. As is customary in this stage in their career, the Isleys showcase Ron’s elastic, silken voice, tailor-made for smooth seduction, no matter the season. There are a few missteps here — “I’m in Love” barely qualifies as a holiday song, and Ron pulls out his pimpalicious alter-ego, Mr. Biggs, for “What Can I Buy You?” — but mostly the program sticks to holiday classics. “Winter Wonderland” starts the disc with a jazzy bounce, and “Isley Christmas Medley” is a trio of hushed, reverent carols.
Various Artists
Stockings by the Fire
(Starbucks Entertainment)
Because Starbucks is more a lifestyle brand than a coffee purveyor, the ubiquitous barista gulag has again compiled a mix of seasonal tunes that alternate between jazzy swing and seasonal affective disorder. For real, now: does every compilation aimed at hipsters and NPR listeners have to include a version of Joni Mitchell’s beautifully depressing “River”? Apparently so, and here, Herbie Hancock and Corinne Bailey Rae turn in a rather rote version. Hem’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” will likewise have you contemplating jumping from the Bedford Falls Bridge. But other contributing artists, such as A Fine Frenzy and the Bird & the Bee, liven things up. Ella, Frank and Nat pop up for a bit of classic cheer, and the similarly minded Diana Krall keeps the mood buoyant and suave with “Winter Wonderland.”
Various Artists
Peace on Earth: A CharityHoliday Album
Some of the sleepiest, shaggiest bands in indie rock get into the holiday spirit with this album, which collects 18 mostly original tracks from acts such as Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla and Springfield, Missouri’s Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Rather than rehash Christmas carols, many of these bands take inspiration from the varying moods of the holiday season, from hope and peace to longing and loneliness. The Long Winters sing of the plight of the working man in “Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas (Sometimes),” and the Great Lake Swimmers sound uncharacteristically upbeat on “Gonna Make It Through This Year.” This set is curated by the music blog Hard To Find a Friend and is available by download only, with all of the proceeds going to the Toys for Tots program.
Various Artists
Classic Soft Rock Christmas
(TimeLife)
Sadly, the AM Gold-spoofing Web sensation Yacht Rock never got around to filming a Christmas episode. Consider this a worthy (if unironic) stand-in. This disc compiles songs from genre-defining lite-rockers Kenny Loggins (singing a buzz-killing “The Bells of Christmas”) and Hall & Oates, who offer their faithful reading of “Jingle Bell Rock.” Air Supply goes for broke on a massive and orchestral “The First Noel,” and the late Jim Croce gets wistful with “It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way.” The fellows in America earn their wings for turning their evergreen “Tin Man” into “White Christmas.” If they’d tried, they probably could have repurposed “Horse with No Name” into “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Thankfully, they didn’t.
Darlene Love
It’s Christmas, Of Course
(Shout! Factory)
Darlene Love came to fame through her recording of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector, the 1963 album that many consider to be the definitive pop holiday set. It makes sense, then, that Love has cherry-picked some of the finer modern Christmas songs from the rock genre, and though she can no longer hit those high notes, her voice has matured nicely. She doesn’t revive her Spector hit, but she gives a rock-and-soul reading to songs written by Tom Petty (a jangly “Christmas All Over the World”) and Robbie Robertson (a gospel-flecked “Christmas Must Be Tonight”), among others. And cheers to Love for turning XTC’s oft-forgotten “Thanks for Christmas” into a sultry soul number.
