Music Review: Various Artists, Psych-Out Christmas

By Less Lee Moore

It’s that time of year when you’re sick to death of Christmas music. The forced cheer, the same five or six songs over and over . . . you know the routine. Thankfully, the fine folks at Cleopatra Records have recently released Psych-Out Christmas, which is exactly that.

Beginning with the amazing “Christmas Monster Party” from Len Maxwell, things are looking up. Or down, depending upon your point of view. Maxwell, a voice over actor who brought the Hawaiian Punch guy to life, among others, provides a song seemingly tailor made for me, a delirious combination of Halloween and Christmas. It originally appeared on A Merry Monster Christmas in 1964. I think this is something I need to own.

Canadian group Elephant Stone covers The Beatles fan club song “Christmas Time Is Here Again” next, adding sitar and phased vocals, like you do. It’s not bad, but it’s not as good as the Shallow Gravy version from Venture Bros. Then again, few things are.

If there were such a subgenre as Christmas Shoegaze, Cosmonauts would fit the bill perfectly, with “It’s Christmas Day.” Then, Quintron and Miss Pussycat supply the first of two excellent instrumentals, the cocktail lounge-y “Silent Night” (later, we get “Jingle Bell Rock”).

Things mellow out a lot with “Jul Song” from Dark Horses, a UK band who sound a lot like Cowboy Junkies. It’s a great song and not stereotypically Christmas-y at all. San Francisco psychedelic lovers Sleepy Sun ask “What Child Is This?” It helps that this Christmas tune is particularly good, but they make it even more mournful, with a subtly driving beat, lots of ghostly harmonies, and a jammy guitar solo.

Vermont duo The Vacant Lots, who played this year’s Austin Psych Fest, inhabit the weird nexus between psychedelic and shoegaze, like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club or The Raveonettes, in “No More Christmas Blues.” I only wish the song were longer as it’s very good.

Sons of Hippies make an interesting choice with their cover of the Zombies’ “Time of the Season.” I think the lyric “who’s your daddy?” is rather thought-provoking in the Christmas context. It’s a decent version of the track from this Florida two-piece.

’80s garage rock champions The Fuzztones do what they do best in “Santa Claus” and then Eli Cook blows you away with an honest to goodness blues track, “Christmas Tears, made popular by Freddy King in the early ’60s. The fact that Cook is a 26-year-old white guy from Virginia is astonishing.

Unfortunately, “Little Drummer Boy” by Sweden’s The Movements doesn’t fare as well. It’s more depressing than Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time” song, like a bad Velvet Underground impersonation. It doesn’t help that this is my least favorite Christmas song ever, even more than the one by Alvin and the Chipmunks.

The Candy Store liven things up with their girl group vibe on “Frosty The Snowman,” from a 1960s album of Christmas tunes. But then there’s another weak point: the sneering, trying too hard to be ironic “Run Rudolph Run” from The Psychic Ills. It’s just not good.

I’m glad that Dead Meadow introduced me to “Mele Kalikmaka,” a tune originally written in 1949 and popularized by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. It’s about as far away from that version as you can get, possibly the most warped and psyched-out track on the album. Another delightful surprise comes in the form of the surf-rock instrumental version of “Jingle Bells” from He 5, a ’60s Korean psychedelic band. I definitely want to know more about these dudes.

Recorded in 2009 and remixed for this release, Iggy Pop lends his gravelly growl and gravitas to “White Christmas.” The music, credited as “Guitar Stooge version,” is perfect: nostalgic and vaguely sad without being schmaltzy.

Psych-Out Christmas, despite a couple of missteps, is a solid addition to your holiday music collection. It’s got lively tunes and melancholy ones, which should help you survive the tumultuousness of the season.

Psych-Out Christmas was released through Cleopatra Records on October 22, and is available on Amazon and iTunes.