This is a small-scale supergroup featuring Americana artists Eleni Mandell, Becky Stark, Inara George and Alex Lilly, and they've had a couple of previous releases before coming together for this 2014 holiday project. I had a bit of trepidation because I suspected the country influence would reign, and I'm not entirely wrong about that; the overall vibe is more of slavishly recreated 1950s pop music with a Southern accent, very much like the Secret Sisters. This describes well their renditions of classics like "Jingle Bells," "Little Drummer Boy" and "Silver Bells." Nevertheless, there are some tunes here worthy of attention among the nine originals. "Christmas in California" is a nicely made pastiche of Beach Boys references, "Skip the Sugar (Good Girl)" lays the Americana harmonies over a gentle reggae beat, "Neon Chinese Christmas Eve" is a gentle recitation of the popular social trope about Jews spending Christmas in Chinese restaurants, "Merry Happy Christmas" evokes a bit of melancholia in the season and "Hanukkah" goes back to the Americana well, though a clarinet adds a jazzy touch. Maybe too mellow for the Mistletunes regulars, but some good songwriting makes it worth a listen.
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