Along with the cold New England weather, endless shopping and glistening decorations, this season also brings with it a plethora of new Christmas CDs. All of these albums cover the classic favorites, and some even attempt to create the newest Christmas hit. The problem with the genre is that its market is so limited - between the fan base and restricted sale period - yet artists still take the plunge on compilation Christmas CDs.
Relient K's most recent attempt, "Let it Snow, Baby ... Let It Reindeer," is the band's effort to enter the hard-rocking Christmas arena, one that already includes untraditional punk and rock compilation albums like "Taste of Christmas," "Happy Christmas Volume 4" and "A Santa Cause 2."
Relient K has the reputation of being a Christian rock band with varying levels of religious music, so it makes perfect sense that the band is releasing a Christmas-themed album.
In the past, Relient K contributed to other albums, but this is the only time all of the band's original songs and covers have been placed in one unit. It consists of 17 tracks, of which seven are original. Diehard fans of the outfit won't find anything particularly new here: The CD uses 10 recycled tracks from the band's 2003 Christmas album, "Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand."
Lead singer Matt Thiessen has an interesting range - as he can be heard screaming, singing loudly and passionately, or quietly and calmly - and the range of styles is not for everyone.
The covers, however, are enjoyable. The boys add harmonies taken from the likes of the Beach Boys to put their own spin on the "12 Days of Christmas," but the simple bass line added to "Sleigh Ride" just sounds like an ambitious attempt that does not succeed.
Their spin on "Auld Lang Syne," purely a cappella and beautifully harmonized, will be the perfect thing to play on New Year's Eve. Of course, there is a catch: Halfway through the track, the music stops for a spoken interruption from the bandmates thanking listeners for buying the album and wishing fans a happy holiday.
Their cover of "Good King Wenceslas" is out of tune and irritating. At least the boys don't take this track seriously - they start laughing halfway into the song.
The original songs, similarly, are nothing spectacular. In fact, listening to them is occasionally painful. The group attempts to be funny with "I'm Gettin' Nuttin' for Christmas" and "Santa Claus is Thumbin' to Town" and tries to show an emo side with "I Hate Christmas Parties," which sounds like a chapter out of Chris Carrabba's life. Even more depressing is "Boxing Day," an ode to the day after Christmas and the melancholy that ensues while reflecting on the past year.
The final verdict is that for alternative-loving Christians or punk-rocking secular Christmas lovers (or Christian-loving Christmas-rockers) this album might - keyword: might - be a nice addition to a long list of holiday-song cover albums. For those who like the occasional Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra, this will not be a glass of proverbial eggnog you'd want to drink, no matter how festively drunk you are.
