Looking for something fresh to soundtrack your yuletide beyond the same old grab-bag? (
Elvis,
Beach Boys,
Phil Spector's gals, and
Vince Guaraldi don't fatigue, but still.) How does this eclectic assortment grab you? The solo sultry chanteuse and ex-
Voltress singer from Madison, Wisconsin had already re-imagined songs recorded by Idlewild,
Cheap Trick,
Julie London,
OMD, Emilio Pericoli, and Ann-Margaret on 2007's Violet Night; so with collaborators like
Andrew Bird guitarist Jeremy Ylvisaker and his bassist Mike Lewis, she downshifts from jazzy, cocktail-shaker versions of standards such as "A Marshmallow World" and
Guaraldi's chilly "Christmas Time Is Here," to a weirdo folk "I'll Be Home for Christmas" like an alternate universe
Rosemary Clooney, to neo-shoegaze and non-traditional covers of Dr. Seuss' Grinch,
Low,
Neil Young, and
Ron Sexsmith. Like 1962's ace bebop Jingle Bell Jazz,
Welcome to Christmastown is as mistily moody as it is celebratory. ~ Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover