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It’s that time of year again. In the USA, at least, the days after Thanksgiving is the unofficial kickoff of the Christmas season. And every year about this time, I find at least one Holiday-themed CD in my inbox. This year the disc of note is A Kool Kat Kristmas<\/em>, a thirteen-track compilation of Christmas-themed tunes fomr as many artists, most of whom fall into the powerpop genre.<\/p>\n As is always the case, Christmas music can easily fall into the maudlin, overly gimmicky, or just plain awful. When it works \u2013 when something appears that’s worth adding to the Holiday section on one’s CD shelf \u2013 it’s pretty good. A few wonderful but lesser-known tunes are out there: Bill Lloyd<\/strong>‘s \u201cUnder the Christmas Tree\u201d is a favorite that most people have never heard.<\/p>\n And for the most part, the tunes on A Kool Kat Kristmas<\/em> work. The general approach that these artists use is to take a sturdy pop melody, add some bells, and put a Holiday-themed lyric to it. If you didn’t understand English, little beyond the tubular bells would hip you to the fact that these songs are about Christmas and such.<\/p>\n For the most part, the bands here don’t sound all that different from each other; listen casually – -while you’re doing other things, like, say trimming your Christmas tree or writing a review \u2013 and you might not even notice that the disc is a various-artists set until you’re several cuts into the album.<\/p>\n Taken as a compilation of powerpop, it’s quite nice: not the most remarkable collection ever, and certainly no Yellow Pills<\/em>, but sturdy and enjoyable.<\/p>\n Several of the acts found here have had their music covered here on Musoscribe: The Bottle Kids<\/strong><\/a>, The Genuine Fakes<\/strong><\/a>, Dan Kibler<\/strong><\/a>, Stephen Lawrenson<\/strong><\/a>, Martin Newell<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 and not surprisingly, their offerings are among the strongest tunes on this disc.<\/p>\n The Bottle Kids’ \u201cChristmas in Paris\u201d actually includes an actual guitar solo, something few of these yuletunes bother with; it’s a gentle number that perhaps fits with the theme of the Holidays better than some rave-up powerpop tune might do. The Genuine Fakes’ \u201cYou Always Come Back Home\u201d is a plaintive, elegiac number, and its gently unfolding arrangement is a highlight of the set.<\/p>\n The Connection<\/strong>‘s \u201cPoor Boy\u201d has a goodtime jug band feel reminiscent of Sopwith Camel<\/strong> or Spanky and Our Gang<\/strong><\/a>. And though a good half of the tunes on the disc lean toward the melancholy, Shake Some Action<\/strong> up the uptempo jangle quotient for the wonderfully Byrds<\/strong>y \u201cChristmas in the Sun.\u201d In fact they may have done themselves a disservice by penning a song destined only for play around the holidays; it’s perhaps the best song on the entire set. And save for the goofy \u201cho ho ho\u201d that kicks it off, The Tor Guides<\/strong>‘ \u201cBeatles Vinyl\u201d is a winner: chiming guitars and warm vocal harmonies provide backing for a sentiment most everyone can agree upon.<\/p>\n Stephen Lawrenson’s \u201cGlad It’s Christmas\u201d is perhaps the disc’s most musically ambitious number; the acoustic guitar runs are reminiscent of Led Zeppelin III<\/em>. Wyatt Funderburk<\/strong>‘s \u201cCold\u201d suggests Brian Wilson<\/strong>‘s musical approach. And while Martin Newell (or anyone, for that matter) would be hard pressed to top \u201cChristmas in Suburbia\u201d from his 1993 The Greatest Living Englishman<\/em>, the stately and melancholy \u201cGhosts of Christmas\u201d ends the disc on a memorable \u00ad(if slightly eerie) note.<\/p>\n In keeping with the sensibility of the season, a portion of the disc’s proceeds goes to The Susan Giblin Foundation for Animal Wellness and Welfare. The album is available from Kool Kat Musik<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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