When the guys and gal in
Dude York decided they wanted to follow up their fun and frolicsome early-2017 album,
Sincerely, with a holiday record at the end of the year, it was a good bet that they weren't going to get too sappy or traditional. OK,
Halftime for the Holidays can get a tiny bit sappy at times, like on the romantic "The Greatest Gift Is You," and most of the album is warm and cuddly ("My Favorite Part [Of This Time of Year]," "True Meaning"), but they also apply their loose-limbed, post-
Weezer rock to songs that are witty (the disco-fied tale of hitting SoCal for the holidays on "Hollywood Holiday"), seasonally depressing ("Break Up Holiday"), and tears-in-the-eggnog sad ("Long Distance Christmas"). The album mines the same territory as
Sincerely, with crunchy guitars, punchy hooks, and sincere vocals, this time out split evenly between guitarist Peter Richards and bassist
Claire England, and the balance of chipper uptempo rockers and midtempo weepers makes for an album that is very representative of the season. Not a weak song in the bunch, one pretty good joke ("Takin' Care of Christmas" sung to the tune of
BTO's "Takin' Care of Business"), and, best of all, there's only one traditional Christmas song on the record, a punky take on "Silent Night" that ends the album and is easy to skip. If anyone is looking for a holiday record that doesn't indulge in too much tradition, adds a few snappy power pop gems to the holiday canon, and charts all the emotions Christmas can dredge up,
Halftime for the Holidays might be something to ask Santa to slide under the tree. ~ Tim Sendra