Various - Christmas Joy in Full Measure

by Benjamin Howarth

published: 18 / 1 / 2015

Label: Hand Of Glory
Format: CD

Uneven but enjoyable Christmas compilation from the Hands of Glory label which includes tracks from Papernut Cambridge, the Young Knives and the Webb Brothers

Review

When I first started buying records, there was nothing as unfashionable as Christmas music. The occasional novelty single might scrape into the top 10, but the days when Slade, Wizzard and Elton John battled it out for the Christmas top spot were long gone. The closest we got was East 17's sleigh bells (tacked on to an otherwise entirely unfestive ballad). Then, gradually, bands began to explore the possibility of festive music. Low were the first, releasing their 'Christmas' album to uniformly positive reviews and subsequently re-releasing it every following December for several years. A few years later, Sufjan Stevens started his long-running series of Christmas EPs – and soon we were off. It is a brave band these days that doesn't release a Christmas album. You can see why it's changed. Twenty years ago, bands could be forgiven for not wanting to use up expensive studio time on something that would only be played once or twice a year. Now, they have the opposite problem – there is so much music that even well received albums run the risk of being forgotten after a handful of plays. The thought of favourite Christmas songs being dusted off year after year must be quite appealing. This Christmas compilation from Hands of Glory has plenty of tracks that I will adding to my festive playlist. Label founders Mary Epworth and Will Twynham begun asking people to take part back in July, and have assembled an eclectic, enjoyable mix. Strictly speaking, Papernut Cambridge's offering isn't new (Ian Button wrote it for Darren Hayman's online 'advent calendar' a few years ago, and it reappeared on the first Papernut Cambridge album), though this may well be a new mix. But it remains a brilliant song – enough to persuade its author to turn what was intended as a strictly one-off project into a going concern that has just released one of 2014's best albums. Even better, and a certainty for all future Christmas playlists is the Young Knives' 'Low Carol', a dazzlingly inventive updated take on a traditional Christmas carol. The trio take the template of the much-loved (and much covered on Christmas compilations) ‘Coventry Carol’, and update it so it fits the themes of modern day Christmas (“the age of Wonga Christmas... the excesses, the kind of blow-it-all live for now feeling that Christmas can provide.”) This is worth the entrance price on its own. Other highlights include an irresistibly catchy mid-tempo ballad from the Webb Brothers (their first new song in five years) and Citizen Helene's Beach Boys inspired ode to festive gluttony. Like most Christmas compilations of this kind, it's a tad uneven – I personally don't associate synth-pop or shouty hardcore punk with mulled wine and fairy lights, but others clearly do. But, of course, that's part of the point – the wild variations in how people respond to being asked to record a Christmas song are where the edge comes from. There are at least four, possibly more, songs on this compilation that will be soundtracking my Christmas holidays for years to come. So, even if you're reading this in January, 'Christmas Joy in Full Measure' would probably still be a decent investment for twelve months time.