Being an avowed agnostic, averse to all things commercialised and a misanthrope to boot, Christmas isn't a good time for me. I hate forced jollity, the expense, exchanging cards and gifts with people you don't like because you're obliged to, the fact the pubs are packed with people 'making merry' (i.e. making twats of themselves) and please don't get me stared on Christmas songs...
Oh dear, too late. Y'see, I feel the exact opposite of the way Roy Wood does. I don't wish it could be Christmas every day. Every year is once a year too often. So pardon me for not dancing with delight on receiving a mini-album of seasonal tunes from electro-poppers The Sky Life.
Yes, I'm a little late with this, but there was no way I could face it in December. Now, in mid January, these songs seem extremely out of place, but at least I can listen to them (relatively) objectively without having a breakdown.
As Christmas covers albums go, 'Lights and Electricity' is... unremarkable. In the main, the song choices are fairly predictable, and the treatments don't really add much by way of interpretation. Gently melodic, the more traditional songs sound very much like very well-produced carol singers:'Deck the Halls' is bell-janglingly jaunty and sounds like a group of festive Morris dancers skipping around, while 'Silent Night' is the subdued drear-fest it always is. the 'pop' songs are simply blandened out, and are more like paint drying than snow falling (something I find quite stimulating in a strange, transfixative sort of a way). I've never liked 'Little Drummer Boy,' and this version is sweet and light but lacks any kind of substance. 'Let it Snow' is smooth and synthy, and sounds like a boy band covering Wham's 'Last Christmas'. On reflection, that might be
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Definitely one for the fans.
Stream / Download Lights and Electricity for free here
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