Various Artists – Sons of Old Town Xmas Extravaganza Vol. 3

It’s officially that time of year – let the Christmas Compilations begin! While this can often be a bit of a cash grab from larger artists trying to squeeze in some end-of-the-year streams of half-baked covers, it’s often a rather refreshing and fun exercise for smaller bands to write and perform seasonal tracks. For a fine example of this, look no further than the Sons of Old Town Xmas Extravaganza Vol. 3.

The fifteen track bundle of various artists is being released by Banana Tapes and Sons of Old Town – a collective of artists started back in 2014 that added a charitable initiative starting in 2016. It’s the third compilation but actually the sixth year that the group has been putting on holiday shows. You can catch the celebration for the comp over at DRKMTTR tonight, Dec 6th. with performances by Tennessee Muscle Candy , Glamper featuring Peyton Rodeffer and Spoken Nerd, and Banana Tapes DJ sets.

The compilation itself has a wide variety of styles across a number of original tunes. The lead track from Lawndry is a contemplative, warbly and surprisingly warm number that just augments that their Lake Life record may end up being one of the most overlooked of the year. There’s doo-wop from Pet Envy, Lonely Island style rap from The Chrimbus Boys, pop-punk from Glamper and a hip-hop song about Krampus from Spoken Nerd that I’ve seen on previously released comps but hasn’t overstayed its welcome yet.

There’s bound to be more compilations coming down the pipe as there’s still two and a half weeks left before Christmas proper but for fans of fun, indie fueled, original holiday tunes; this is a solid offering.