On the Upbeat Presents... Arose Such a Clatter 2021

It's Christmas Eve, so we've got a trio of final Christmas related releases for you. The first is from On the Upbeat which has released On the Upbeat Presents... Arose Such a Clatter 2021 the follow up to last year's all ska Christmas album. As with any ska compilation released in 2021, this won't be for everyone, and apologizes to your kids and spouses on my behalf, but if you think you'll like this, you're gonna love it. Before listening to this album, I had only heard of Half Past Two (who give their cover of Weezer's "Holiday" to the compilation), but you're going to discover a bunch of new favorite ska bands on this. Just the title of the first song is going to give you a clue as to what you're in for: "I Hate the Holidays" by Backyard Heroes. Urban Crater have a straight edge Christmas anthem with "XmasX." 

With an all ska Christmas compilation, you're going to get covers. Amy Gabba and the Almost Famous do a killer version of Darlene Love's beloved "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)." Joe Billy punks up "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer," which is basically exactly what you want it to be. A ska version of Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run" by The Guilty Parties is far more fun than it has any right to be. Millington's take on The Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick" may just be perfect. We get our second ska cover of The Waitresses' "Xmas Wrapping," this time from Ego and the Appropriators. And of course there's a version of The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" from The Resignators.

You can listen to Amy Gabba and the Almost Famous' version of "Baby (Please Come Home)" below. On the Upbeat Presents... Arose Such a Clatter 2021 can be downloaded via Bandcamp. It may be for the "name your price" option, but since all donations go to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, you really should give a little something.