A year ago, Splendid ran a feature called Holiday Music that Doesn't Suck. After working on it, I was so sick of alt-holiday tunes that I swore not to listen to any more of them until Low licensed a song to the Gap. I figured that vow would buy me a few years' peace. More fool me.
Anyway, the plan at the time was to include the My Pal God Holiday Record 2 in our feature, but the gremlins that dog most independent labels decided that Holiday Record 2 wasn't going appear in time for the holiday. We reviewed the first My Pal God Holiday Record instead, and figured we'd get the second volume this year if we didn't all perish in some fiery Y2K-related disaster
And sure enough, here it is. Like the first record, 2 contains a mixture of original seasonal tunes, mostly Christmas and New Year related, and a couple of reinterpreted classics. The mood is quite secular, and as long as you don't listen too closely to the lyrics, you won't feel like too much of an ass if you drag the disc out and give it a spin in mid-July.
Following the cheesy seventies goofiness of Emperor Penguin's "Erotic Xmas (Home for the Holograms)", the Joshua Falken Trio's "Ornament" paints an evocative picture of the holidays, echoed by Pedal's Kitchens of Distinction-y "On Xmas Day". Neutrino and Del Rey take their own approach to holiday classics, with Del Rey's guitar-epic version of "Nutcracker Overture/Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" making a strong impression. Neutrino's "Island of Misfit Toys/Little Drummer Boy" scores in its second half -- apparently no band alive can screw this song up. Camellia Lane's "Christmas", Port Vale's "The Snowmen" and The Beau Grumpus goBEAUlins' "Candy Your Cane" should get you bouncing and humming along despite the winter cold. And thank you, Drums & Tuba, for recording a version of "Auld Lang Syne" for the new millennium.
While it's an enjoyable listen, the My Pal God Holiday Record 2 probably succeeds more as a compilation than as a bona fide holiday record, if only because you'll have a tough time playing the French Kicks' "Alabaster City" during Christmas dinner without riling Grandma. But as a way to counter the mind-numbing barrage of commercialized, soulless Christmas music that'll be piped into every office, mall and car for the next few weeks, it's tops. Our culture may have lost the ability to produce good, enduring, schmaltz-free songs about Christmas, but it's nice to know that people are still trying to write them.
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