Now That's What I Call Novelty Holiday Music 16, Merkel and the Merkelettes (self-issued)

The Merkels have historically dropped their annual recording project exactly on Christmas Day in previous years, so I was surprised to see their 2025 release had dropped way back on Dec. 1. Anyway, it's here, an EP full of rock parodies designed to change up the pace of your holiday playlists. If you missed last year's single of "Reindeer Game" (Chris Isaac parody) and "Last Christmas I Told You I Love You," not to worry, they're tacked onto the end of this release, at least on the streaming services. The remaining songs are "For Santa's Girth" (Buffalo Springfield), "One Red Light" (Wallflowers), "Tree" (Radiohead), and "Sittin on the Back of My Sleigh" (Otis Redding). As always, you might note the productions are a touch amateur, but that's part of their charm, I think. Available everywhere including Bandcamp.