1. It Never Snows (featuring Michele Khazak)
2. Christmas Wrapping (featuring Shenandoah Davis)
3. Thanks For Christmas
4. Merry Christmas
In 2009, this Seattle based nine-piece Indie pop/rock group released a pleasant little holiday EP--"Exohxmas"--and, for 2010, they continued the tradition. Unlike many movie franchises, the sequel was imminently more satisfying. Both efforts have a decided charm about them, but "Exohxmas II" sounds better produced and less thrown together (it was recorded in under a week, so you know its good). And the song selection, here, is brilliant. Exohxo covers The Waitresses, XTC and INXS (a little known fan club single from 1984), topping it all off with an original selection that, somewhere down the road, ought to be covered by multitudes of artists--from jazz vocalists and American Idol wannabes to pop and rock bands seeking a pretty, mid-tempo ballad that hasn't been driven into the ground. "It Never Snows" has the kind of haunting quality of some of the better rock-era Christmas songs ("I Believe In Father Christmas" comes to mind). Certainly lesser songs have fared as well. "When does hope become distraction? When does joy become the rule? So the year didn't turn out how you wanted. Give it a week and you can start anew." I even dig the cover art. Pick up both Exohxo Christmas EPs free at Bandcamp. And prepare for the 2011 edition: "Exohxmas III: The Wreath Of Khan". Damn, that's going to be tough not to steal.
2. Christmas Wrapping (featuring Shenandoah Davis)
3. Thanks For Christmas
4. Merry Christmas
In 2009, this Seattle based nine-piece Indie pop/rock group released a pleasant little holiday EP--"Exohxmas"--and, for 2010, they continued the tradition. Unlike many movie franchises, the sequel was imminently more satisfying. Both efforts have a decided charm about them, but "Exohxmas II" sounds better produced and less thrown together (it was recorded in under a week, so you know its good). And the song selection, here, is brilliant. Exohxo covers The Waitresses, XTC and INXS (a little known fan club single from 1984), topping it all off with an original selection that, somewhere down the road, ought to be covered by multitudes of artists--from jazz vocalists and American Idol wannabes to pop and rock bands seeking a pretty, mid-tempo ballad that hasn't been driven into the ground. "It Never Snows" has the kind of haunting quality of some of the better rock-era Christmas songs ("I Believe In Father Christmas" comes to mind). Certainly lesser songs have fared as well. "When does hope become distraction? When does joy become the rule? So the year didn't turn out how you wanted. Give it a week and you can start anew." I even dig the cover art. Pick up both Exohxo Christmas EPs free at Bandcamp. And prepare for the 2011 edition: "Exohxmas III: The Wreath Of Khan". Damn, that's going to be tough not to steal.
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