No end to choices modern
Christmas music
Paul Bowers - Decemeber 6, 2005
Happy Christmas
Volume Four - Various Artists
What happens when you take 14 up-and-coming alternative rock acts - including Relient K, Underoath, and Anberlin - and tell them to record some Christmas music? As it turns out, it makes for a very happy Christmas.
The album, which mainly features artists from the Seattle-based Tooth & Nail record label, opens with a quiet Switchfoot tune titled "Evergreen." Longtime fans will appreciate the song's musical and lyrical similarity to the band's earlier work.
Emery, a melodic post-hard-core group hailing from South Carolina, contributes "A Way for Santa's Sleigh," possibly the most haunting Santa Claus song ever written.
Aaron Gillespie (of Underoath) and Kenny Vasoli (of The Starting Line) perform "Yule Be Sorry," by far the edgiest track. It's relatively tame compared with most of Gillespie's work, but it's loud enough to get even the most hardened hard-core hearts into the holiday spirit.
Of course, there are plenty of remakes of winter classics, including Mae's jazzy-yet-rocking take on "Carol of the Bells" and Hawk Nelson's obnoxiously catchy redo of George Michael's "Last Christmas."
But the real high point of the compilation is "I Celebrate the Day," a musically stunning, lyrically profound song by Relient K. This track alone is worth the full price of the album; it cuts to the core of what Christmas is really about.
So whether you want to hear your favorite rock bands calm down and sing some Christmas carols, or you're just looking for a fresh alternative to your parents' ancient yuletide yawn-makers, this album is a great pick.