Album Review: Bad Religion, Christmas Songs

With a cover image snapped by Gerald Walker in 1946, depicting a six-year-old Austrian boy hugging donated shoes from the Red Cross, it’s clear from the onset that this is no Christmas album doused in flickering green and red cheer – but then again, nothing by Bad Religion has ever sidled normalcy.

Christmas Songs, the politically-charged, largely irreligious (see: band title, cross-buster logo and numerous references to securlarisation) punk icon’s first holiday EP, takes nine traditional, Jesus worshiping songs and turns them punk without trying to. The reworkings of classics like White Christmas, O Come All Ye Faithful and Little Drummer Boy haven’t been injected with ironic blasphemy or hardcore ethos; instead it’s as if Brian Baker, Jay Bentley and Greg Graffin, Brett Gurewitz and Brooks Wackerman (the EP is the first not to feature Greg Hetson since ‘83s Into The Unknown) have taken their place in the church choir and are trying to impress their parents in the pews.

Interestingly, the melodious requirements are picked up naturally by Bad Religion; any zealot could tell you layered harmonies, backing vocals and baritone belting have been a permanent element of the SoCal band’s repertoire since their ’79 inception. With Graffin’s soaring aggression and curling tongue inflections, stitched in with fizzing, oblique guitars, the punk professor and his band of merry men could well be offering up more eye-opening convictions from this year’s True North if the vocals weren’t so recognisable and crisp.

At just twenty minutes, Christmas Songs is surprisingly narrative-crediting, aside from the inclusion of ’93 cut American Jesus as the closer, Bad Religion have steered clear of irony, offering up a thirsted after holiday collection for those not buying into Top 40 Christmas spirit.

NOTE: Appositely, 20% of proceeds go to SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests).

Christmas Songs is out now through Epitaph.