We're Baaack! GMR Christmas #12: Vol. 2, various artists (Green Monkey)

As promised, here's the second volume of Green Monkey's massive 2025 Christmas song drop. The True Olympians open things with the third version of their original "Fruitcake," previously on another Green Monkey comp and a Tom Dyer solo EP, Reggie Garrett and Christine Gunn offer "Personent Hodie," an antique number first published in a Finnish music folio in the 16th century and rendered here in a period-appropriate arrangement, Levi Fuller offers a politically astute dirge with the title "Merry Christmas (Everything's Fucked)," The Squirrels take a goofy tack on "Joy To the World," apparently donated from the band's own 30-year-old album, and Marke Brunke created the ragtime number "Old Christmas Rags" with the assistance of AI, although he put so much work into it it's hard to see what effort AI saved him. Kaz Murphy 3 offers the earnest original "Where Is Santa?," Krampus Choir does the ukulele ballad "Krampus," The Hyperdrive Kittens give us the punk energy of "All I Want," and Von Cube's "Christmas Time" has that 70s hard rock feel filtered through a lo-fi approach. The Olson Bros Band give us the acoustic swinger "Keepin' It Jolly," Daddy Daughter Datge DOD's "Jingle Bells" is fine if you're looking for parents getting their kid to sing a song, Tommy Lee Dyer's "John Lee Christmas" is a John Lee Hooker-styled holiday song, and Woo & Rooby do "Join Our Hands," a humorous acoustic novelty. The Dyer Family Singers perform "On Thanksgiving," a song for that holiday actually recorded on Thanksgiving, Dead Air Fresheners do "The Worst Noel," a film noir narration spoken over the familiar carol, The Elftones offer "Christmas is Here Again," a coming-home midtempo tune, and Ben Shaw wraps things with "The Man With the Beard," a folky ballad. As before, click the cover or visit Bandcamp.