While their first Christmas album, 1996’s The Darkest Night of the Year, was heavy on standards, Snow Angels relies on mostly original material. That turns out to be a strength, as multi-instrumentalist Linford Detweiler and vocalist Karin Bergquist bring the jazz-and-blues-tinged intimacy of 2007’s The Trumpet Child to these Christmas songs. Songs like “Darlin’ (Christmas is Coming)” and “Snowed in With You” winningly recall the Christmas music of yesteryear, meant to evoke a cozy, snowed-in cabin or townhouse rather than a bustling mega-mall. Only on “White Horse” do Detweiler and Bergquist border on schmaltz. Otherwise, they’re up to the task, with Bergquist sounding like a modern-day Nancy Wilson or Billie Holiday. The pair of standards are given fresh, earthy takes, while “Goodbye Charles” is a fitting Schulz/Guaraldi tribute. Snow Angels exudes the peace and quiet that everyone longs for at Christmastime, and does so with class.

—John Bergstrom

Taking an energetic if cynical approach to the holiday compilation, Yep Roc has assembled a collection of original “holiday-inspired” tunes from its stable of alt-country/indie rock artists. There’s only one carol, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” in a growled, dirty rendition by Th’ Legendary Shack*Shakers. As for the rest—yeah, you could call it a holiday compilation for people who don’t like holiday music. From the funny, human response to loneliness at Christmas by Jason Brennan to the whiskey dreams of Minus 5, the emphasis is squarely on the outsider’s experience of the holiday season. “Lovely Christmas”, by Jason Ringenberg and Kristi Rose, doesn’t leave much to the imagination. Alternating between Rose’s peaceful acoustic phrasing, Ringenberg stresses out about credit cards and consumerism, eventually drowning out her innocence completely. The compilation manages, too, to accurately represent Yep Roc’s characteristic sound—richly rocking, often dirty, occasionally arresting. And despite all the cynicism, even Yep Roc can’t totally cut: Los Straightjackets’ “Holiday Twist” is indeed a lost Christmas classic, the kind of feel-good song that deserves to be accompanying Louis and Ella through department speakers.

—Dan Raper

Featuring 15 tracks gathered from three earlier volumes of the venerable Ultra Lounge series, this compilation presents a nice sampling of Christmas music that ranges from the kitschy to the classic. Unlike many of the other albums in the Ultra Lounge series, however, the Christmas Cocktails discs don’t just feature quirky, odd, and occasionally cringe-inducing musical oddities, but also include some wonderful old chestnuts, including a number of lesser known jazz classics from the ‘50s and ‘60s. For example, when’s the last time you heard “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Mambo” by Billy May? Other highlights include Dean Martin’s terminally cool version of “Winter Wonderland”, Kay Starr’s “(Everybody’s Waiting For) The Man With the Bag”, “Happy Holidays” by Peggy Lee, and “The Merriest” by June Christy. For kitsch, you can’t beat “Jing-A-Ling” by The Starlighters, the easy listening medley of “Sleigh Ride/Santa Claus’ Party” by Ferrante & Teicher with Les Baxter (unfortunately appearing without his “Band of Reknown”), or “Christmas Island” by Bob Atcher & the Dinning Sisters (though I prefer the laidback version of the latter by Leon Redbone). Finally, the album wraps up with a previously unreleased instrumental version of “My Favorite Things” by Martin Denny, substituting an accordion for the more traditional vocal melody. Forty minutes of Christmas coolness—definitely worth picking up.

—Dave Hoffman

Mostly instrumental and brimming with unique holiday confections cooked up, Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra drops some flavor in your ear and some soul in your stocking with A Very Ping Pong Christmas: Funky Treats From Santa’s Bag. No ping pong balls were hurt, much less used during the making of this album, relying upon Shawn Lee’s unexpected instrumentation and kicky configurations to carry out this trippy holiday fantasy. Along the way, Lee acts as Parson Brown, marrying an inspired twist of Screaming Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You” to the holiday classic “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”. Not the only fresh take on traditional favorites, A Very Ping Pong Christmas also features a scratch n’ sitar-laden take on “The Little Drummer Boy”, sprinkling it with baritone sax, the sonic equivalent of colored sugar on Christmas-shaped cookies. Squealing horns interwoven with guitar-wonk psychadelia gives Lee’s version of “Do You Hear What I Hear” enough street cred to sound like the soundtrack to some long lost, ‘70s Christmas-themed blaxploitation flick. Fun and funked-out to the gills, Lee’s Yuletide effort merits year round replay value, not just during the holidays. While still recognizable as the usual arsenal of Christmas classics, Lee’s reworkings aren’t overtly identifiable as something strictly seasonal. Offering up something for fans of funk, jazz, and jam-session styles, these genres are expertly blended into a category-defying sound. Each piece is head-bobbingly good, invoking a holiday feel without overflowing that proverbial cup of cheer and saturating each track with an overdose of seasonal sentiment.

—Lana Cooper

Darlene Love has one of the most iconic voices of the holiday season. Come December, her Phil Spector-produced “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” from the classic 1963 album A Christmas Gift for You is a staple on the airwaves. Five decades since that landmark recording, Darlene Love has finally released her own album in tribute to the holidays. It’s Christmas, Of Course stands apart from other similarly themed efforts with renditions of strictly contemporary Christmas compositions. You won’t find “Silent Night” or “The Christmas Song”. Instead, Love tackles songs by Robbie Robertson, Tom Petty, and John Lennon with her full-bodied and gospel-inflected phrasing. Producers Shawn Amos and Kevin Killen have assembled a wonderful group of musicians to back Love. Her take on The Pretenders’ “2000 Miles” is given a slightly jazz makeover while NRBQ’s “Christmas Wish” is lovely and loping. Her voice is imbued with more than just the Christmas spirit. There’s an authentic, joyful soul emanating from each one of these songs making It’s Christmas, Of Course an indispensable addition to anyone’s holiday music collection.

—Christian John Wikane

It’s easy to want to dismiss Jars of Clay’s Christmas Songs because, really, the world probably doesn’t need another “boys with guitars play Christmas songs” album. That they haven’t done it to date (aside from an early EP) in their ten-year career, however, might indicate that they were waiting for the right time, when they had enough quality originals and covers to put out something wonderful. Indeed, Christmas Songs is a wonderful little album, with a version of Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” that miraculously doesn’t make you want to bang your head against a wall until it bleeds, and a perfectly majestic original called “Peace Is Here”, which sounds like something Lennon might have written were he still around. The crowning achievement here is an electronic take on the standard “O Little Town of Bethlehem” which changes the melody entirely, in the process re-establishing the solemnity and quiet majesty of the song. It’s hard to say that Christmas Songs will be remembered for years from now, but for right now, it’s refuge from the bombast of the season, a perfectly subtle slice of Heaven.

—Mike Schiller