Halftime for the Holidays, Dude York (Hardly Art)

This Seattle rock trio steps up for 2017 with a full-length holiday CD that is unpolished rock 'n roll fun. They're kinda grungy, kinda punky, and they don't take themselves too seriously, which is all to the good. They kick off strongly with "Break Up Holiday," in which the singer tries to avoid an ex at a Christmas party, and swings into a faintly funky "Hollywood Holiday," in which they explore a warm weather version of yuletide celebrations, name-checking landmarks along the way. Another strong rocker is "The Greatest Gift Is You," followed by "My Favorite Part (Of This Time Of Year)," which, spoiler alert, is a significant other. "Long Distance Christmas" is their version of the holiday road song, and "True Meaning" is a boogie shuffle search for holiday verities, with a shout-out to Hanukkah no less. The remaining songs are a hyped-up "Silent Night," and throwaways "Jingle Bells Rock" and "Takin' Care of Christmas," the latter a short takeoff on the Bachman-Turner Overdrive hit; apparently they hadn't heard that Randy Bachman had done the same thing himself years ago. No matter; these guys and gal have added a fine rocking collection to the Christmas canon.