Discomfort and Joy, Jingle Punx (Ill Genetics)

They're back for 2007, this punk-hard rock group with the holiday fetish. As they have for a decade now, they've released yet another CD of Christmas goodies. This time around, they've given us only six fresh studio recordings, but they make up for it with nearly 30 live recordings of tunes they've done in the past. They sound more hard rock than punk on the studio cuts, with overtones of the garage sound, especially on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." They cover Ringo Starr's "Come On Christmas, Christmas Come On" and lend a suitable thrash to "Christmastime Is Here," the "Peanuts" gang's song. "O Come All Ye Faithful" harkens back to their older, punkier sound, and they keep a bit of the Latin flavor in "Feliz Navidad" before going double-time on the chorus. Finally, they cover Weird Al Yankovic's "Christmas at Ground Zero," which must make the old parodist proud. Then they transition into the live show with a parody reading of "A Visit From St. Nicholas," followed by performances of such oldies but goodies as "Mrs. Santa Claus," "Snoopy's Christmas," "Please Daddy Don't Get Drunk This Christmas," and the usual array of classic carols done Jingle Punx style. If you haven't been following the band, this disc is just about all you need. Clicking on the album cover takes you to iTunes, where only the six studio cuts are offered; the live cuts are only on the disc. UPDATE: For 2008 they issued a free single of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" with a new singer.