A Very Cherry Christmas 15, various artists (Cherryade)

Bouncing back from a COVID-limited 2020, Cherryade Records in Manchester, UK, with the help of DJ Gareth Jones once again, brings us a full CD of indie-pop-rock Christmas goodies for 2021. CD is the only way it's available, however; get your order in quick for one of the 200 copies. (International mail and Brexit-related cock-ups may make it difficult for US readers to get a copy, but give it a shot anyway.) We get 21 tunes from a number of British indie bands, as has been normal in the Cherryade series, and most are originals. The covers are DUCK's version of Throwing Muses' "Santa Claus," Mouses' version of Shakin' Stevens' "Merry Christmas Everyone," and Mega Emotions' version of a rare Paul McCartney number, "We All Stand Together," which doesn't have much in the way of holiday lyrics but fits in with the playlist anyway. Among the highlights of the disc are "Happy Xmas (our war has started)" by Pete Drake and Emma Solomon, a timely lament about supply chain difficulties threatening the holiday; Basic Bitches' poppy thrash "I Hope Your Holidays Are Fine"; Synthetic Villains' "There Was Snow On His Boots," an instrumental evoking the pre-"Pet Sounds" Beach Boys; and I like "Llega la Navidad" by The Yellow Melodies even though I don't understand the Spanish lyrics. "The Yellow Beard Santa Claus" by the Vegetablets has that mid-60s pop feeling, Kiss Me, Killer goes grungy with "Kiss Me, Christmas," Jonny Melodic addresses the "Office Xmas Party" with humor, synths, and scratchy rhythm guitars, the Hannah Barberas provide "Oh Santa Claus" in a slightly different version than their two previous recordings of it, and Bean Weevil offers a song about "Charades." Mouse Assassins waltz along to "Hey, Hey, It's Christmas Day," Mild Horses put a Raveonettes-type spin on "Alone For Christmas," The Old Married Couple breaks out the ukeleles for "Until Christmas," SUPER 8 give us a power pop "This Christmas," and Building Rockets conclude the disc with the spacey ballad "Song For Next Christmas." A very listenable collection, especially for indie-rock fans. You can stream samples of it at Bandcamp, too.