 Various
Artists
"It's a Team Mint Xmas Vol. 2!" CD
Mint
Records
Genres: indie rock, indie pop
Mint Records
PO Box 3613
Vancouver BC
V6B 3Y6
Canada
Jan 3 - 9 2005 |
Volume 2 is a follow-up to 2000's It's A Team Mint Xmas
seven-inch record, though it contains all of its (now out-of-print)
predecessor's songs. For a holiday compilation, this is as good
as it gets - the Mint roster is a diverse and exciting bunch, and a
wide array of styles are on showcase here. We start off with folky blues in the form of John Guliak's
bittersweet (or maybe just bitter) "Daddy's Drinking Up Our
Christmas." The other "folky" tracks have a
stronger country leaning, like Carolyn Mark's "Song For
The Girl With Two of Everything" and Tennessee Twin's
"X-mas is Past." Meanwhile, two modern purveyors of
country-grilled surf-rock - Atomic 7 and The Ramblin'
Amabassadors - contribute successful holiday tracks, one of which
is a punchy version of "Deck The Halls." There is also some nice indie pop here courtesy of young and
sexy and Duotang, as well as very enjoyable versions of
"Lonely Christmas" (by The Smugglers) and "Do
They Know It's Christmas" (by an all-star lineup cleverly billed
as Mint-Aid).
I've got a soft spot for holiday music, it's true - but this compilation should kick the holiday spirit into anyone within
earshot. Ho ho ho.
86%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
14 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2004] |
