A Christmas Kind of Town

Performer: Marah
Distributor: Redeye Music Distribution

Notes: Marah: Serge Bielanko (vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica); David Bielanko (vocals, guitar, banjo, xylophone, bass guitar, percussion, jingles); Kirk Henderson (guitar, baritone guitar, piano, organ, Mellotron, xylophone, music box); Adam Garbinski (guitar); Dave Petersen (drums). Additional personnel: Christine Smith (vocals, piano); Ahneeta Shalita, Kazual Shalita, Monica Bielanko (vocals); Larry Anderson, Greg Wilson (background vocals). On the surface Marah might not seem the likeliest band to do a Christmas record. They seem so tough and hard-bitten most of the time. Then after some thought you realize that they have exactly the kind of heart of gold it takes to deliver a good holiday record. And indeed A Christmas Kind of Town is a wonderful holiday album. On it the band tackles Yuletide nuggets, throw in a few great originals, and tie it together with a bunch of cute and silly interludes. On the classic front, they turn in a suitably sweet "Christmas Time Is Here," give "Silver Bells" a heart-tugging doo wop treatment, romp through a loose "Holly Jolly Christmas" with suitably square backing vocals, wobble through a boozy "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with guest vocalist Christine Smith, careen wildly through "Auld Lange Syne" like a partly sober Pogues, and imbue "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" with some late-night blues. Impressive stuff but the originals are even better. "New York Is a Christmas Kind of Town" is a laid-back tune with cute-as-pie lyrics and a melt-in-your-mouth delivery. You can close your eyes and almost hear somebody like Dean Martin belting it out on a holiday special. "Counting the Days ('Til Christmas)" is a bounding near-polka singalong with accordions, sleigh bells, and a lovely vocal bridge, and "Christmas with the Snow" is a light-as-fresh-snow rocker with female lead vocals by the Shalitas and the kind of melody that you want to give to everyone on your Xmas list. All three songs sound like they should be future Christmas classics for bands to cover in 20 years. Hopefully enough people will hear this utterly heartwarming and joyous album to make that a possibility ~ Tim Sendra

Philadelphia-bred roots-rockers Marah have had a career distinguished by two things: one, an unselfconsciously classic-rock approach to their craft that, since the mid-1990s, has bucked any of the trends of the day; and two, an ability to attract powerful champions while maintaining indie cred. Formed around the nucleus of brothers Dave and Serge Bielanko, the band released their first album on a small label in '98, and got the attention of Steve Earle, who released the follow-up on his E-Squared Records. Oasis producer Owen Morris, generally reluctant to work with Americans, helmed the next album, on which Bruce Springsteen guested, and writers Nick Hornby and Stephen King have both raved in print about their music. Despite all the public praise, by their eighth studio release in 2008 the band was still proudly independent.

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