After last year's surf rock-infused album, Cannonballers, from Colony House, I was pleasantly surprised to see such a quick follow-up of music a short year later. That enthusiasm was tempered when I discovered it was to be Christmas music, but after giving it a shot, the Nashville indie rockers had won me over again. With the Every Christmas EP, they have served up a delightful seasonal appetizer of three brief, but excellent original Christmas tunes.

"Merry Christmas" kicks things off with a hazy 60s-era slow jam. This is the type of song you would listen to around the fireplace as the Colony House fellas...

Singer-songwriter Chris Renzema tested my patience. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan; he just tested my longstanding struggle with the question, "Do we even need more Christmas music?" Each year, as CCM artists begin releasing Christmas music in September or October, I'm faced with the choice to embrace my inner Grinch or remain open-minded. Well, I'm glad to say Renzema dodges the common trap of well-known cover songs with safely bland arrangements by releasing five original, and excellent, tunes. So, for that reason, and the fact that Chris is one of the best at writing relatable devotional pop currently, I'm happy to report I'm all-in on his Christmas in the Midwest EP...

The Christmas album is now a staple in the modern artist's album repertoire. And if you are a veteran songwriter like Phil Wickham, you will likely even have a few in your arsenal. With two very good Christmas records already in his history, Wickham's Hallelujah! It's Christmas has a high bar to reach. And thankfully Hallelujah delivers on this good track record. With a slightly ambient tone overall, the album has a mystical feel that matches this most important of stories very well.

The opening "Here We Come a'Caroling" takes the familiar old English melody and washes it with an ambient bed of music and a slightly distorted vocal that actually lifts the familiar tune up...