I’ve never really liked Christmas music because it’s overplayed around the holiday season and just sounds annoying. So when I heard that Fearless Records was coming out with an album called “Punk Goes Christmas,” I thought I’d give it a listen. Compared to other Christmas music I have heard, I ended up liking it because it sounds different and gives classic Christmas music a unique twist.
This album features 12 different and remade Christmas classics sung by 12 different artists or bands. The album starts out with New Found Glory accoustily singing “Nothing for Christmas” which is a different sound for the alternative rock group.
All Time Low really gets into the holiday music sound with their remake of “Fools Holiday.” Lead singer Alex Gaskarth’s vocals and acoustic guitar playing gives the song a perfect easy-going Christmas jam feeling. Unlike All Time Low, The Ready Set doesn’t stick with a christmassy sound; instead they go in a more fun and bouncy pop direction. The band sings the track titled “I Don’t Wanna Spend Another Christmas Without You” which really makes you want to sing along since it’s so fun and bouncy.
Jason Lancaster will surely melt your heart when he sings “All I Can Give You.” Lancaster really makes you feel the true love for someone around the holiday season. The simply but sweetly played melody of the piano really captures the softness of his voice which will melt more than just a few hearts.
Not only do the bands in “Punk Goes Christmas” cover classic songs, but they do some contemporary remakes of some other popular singers songs. The Summer Set really brings their own twist to their remake of Chris Brown’s “This Christmas” by adding a pop and alternative rock sound to the song, which makes it sound great. Yellowcard does a cover of “Christmas Lights,” which is originally sung by Coldplay. Instead of just using piano melodies like Coldplay’s version, Yellowcard adds in some guitar playing that leads up to the solo giving it more of a festive feeling.
Issues really does add their own twist to their cover of NSYNC’s song “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays.” The song has some simple acoustic singing along with some screaming over some heavy guitar playing to add their own twist to the song.
For the people who don’t really have the most cheer towards the Christmas holiday, the album has a couple songs for you. “Real Friends,” “Man Overboard,” “Crown the Empire,” and “Set It Off” are songs about the loss of love or that not everyone gets to have happy holiday. Real Friends sings “I Had a Heart,” which really captures the feeling of loss of love with the line, “I’ll sit and wonder who she loves instead of me. If she told me who it was, I’m afraid it would rip my heart out.” Similar to “Real Friends,” “Crown the Empire,” is a slow and simple heartbreaking, but cute song.
By the time you reach the end of the album you will be listening to an anti-christmas song. “Set It Off” really makes “This Christmas (I’ll Burn it to the Ground)” a very dark and sinister song. Lead singer Cody Carson really shows how he can make his voice creepy in a number of ways that will leave your skin crawling.
After listening to “Punk Goes Christmas” at least a dozen times, I’ve come the conclusion that I can put up with this kind of holiday music. I really like that it’s not the stereotypical Christmas music that I personally find annoying. So if you’re not a fan of holiday music, give this album a try because it is different, and you may end up liking it too.