Don't judge by the name of the group; this Pittsburgh band's 2022 holiday release is more of a bossa nova. It's, of course, the song from "A Year Without a Santa Claus." Grab it from Bandcamp.
January 2023 Archives
Kels is Pittsburgh-based singer Kelsey Hillock, and this 2022 holiday single is a fine midtempo pop-rock number infused with a little R'nB. Download it from Amazon here.
I had been reluctant to take this on because my understanding was that it was pretty much modern bro-country via the Christian music scene. But we've grappled with the is-it-country question throughout the existence of this website, and this 2022 album does have its charms, starting with the new Thanksgiving anthem "Thanks Giver," a solid ballad for that particular holiday. "I've Heard About You" is a midtempo reason-for-the-season song, "The Ballad Of Mrs. C (She's Sick of the Beard)," is a rock anthem about the jolly elf's wife, and "Christmastime Is Here" is an almost bluesy holiday lament. "Your Praise Goes On" is a more overtly religious ballad, and "The Elf Song" is the keeper from this collection, a solidly tongue-in-cheek rocker about the elves unionizing. Crowder also covers "Go Tell It On the Mountain" in a bluegrass arrangement, performs a seriously rocked-out "White Christmas," does a midnight-mass arrangement of "Carol of the Bells," and medleys an original song with a classic in "December 26th/Auld Lang Syne." Not totally on our wavelength here, but there are great playlist candidates here, chiefly "The Elf Song."
Happy New Year! This popped up on my Facebook feed last night and I wasn't aware of it before this. From 2020, the popular clown/vocalist mashes up the Clash with this classic year-end ballad. Download it here. If you've never encountered Puddles Pity Party before, you should note he's responsible for one of the great mash-ups of our time, "Pinball Wizard" played over the music to "Folsom Prison Blues."
