Craft Recordings is celebrating Christmas in July with a highly anticipated vinyl reissue for the seminal Fearless Records holiday compilation, Punk Goes Christmas. The release is the 14th compilation album in the celebrated Punk Goes... series, originally released in November of 2013.
Punk Goes Christmas stands out within the eclectic Punk Goes… series thanks to it being one of the only compilations that features original songs and covers alike. A deluxe edition, featuring four additional tracks, was released in November 2015. This latest reissue, which returns the project to its original 12-song format, marks its first availability since that limited run almost a decade ago.
The release is set to arrive on October 11 and available for pre-order now, making it the perfect stocking stuffer for punk, emo and vinyl fanatics worldwide. Craft is offering this special release in two distinct vinyl formats, the wide Translucent Ruby Red vinyl and a Green Smoke variant exclusively via Craft Recordings. The collection is also available to stream/download now.
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Upon its initial release in November of 2013, Punk Goes Christmas helped completely reimagine the concept of the holiday compilation, letting the generation-defining acts included on the album dictate the direction of Fearless Records’ celebrated series.
The album kicks off with New Found Glory’s heartfelt original “Nothing For Christmas,” a warm ode to true love and a B-side that quickly became a fan favorite at New Found Glory shows before finding a large and eager audience on Punk Goes Christmas.
Other highlights include Man Overboard turning the Kinks’ “Father Christmas” into a cynical and sneering anti-capitalist punk anthem. Yellowcard take on Coldplay’s “Christmas Lights,” tapping into the same catharsis harnessed by the UK band but spinning the bubbling tension in a stadium-ready climax. Punknews.org lauded the track, noting that: “It is a beautifully written tune about lost love, opening with a subtle croon from Ryan Key before giving way to a powerful, almost anthemic last two minutes.”
All Time Low contributed another original to the collection in the form of “Fool’s Holiday,” which Substream Magazine included on their list of best Punk Goes… songs and said “might be one of their best songs written—period.”
The album closes with a triumphant version of “Do You See What I See?,” vulnerably and confidently performed by William Beckett, singer from The Academy Is… The track begins with bold piano chords and the occasional timpani roll accompanying Beckett’s voice, before erupting with a grooving drum beat and triumphant final chorus. It’s a perfect send off to another Christmas season, less a “goodbye” than “see you next year”!
From front to back, Punk Goes Christmas showcases the unbridled excitement that a well-executed and thoughtfully curated compilation album can create. Bands and artists work outside of their traditional comfort zones, creating a truly one-of-a-kind tribute to the holiday spirit.
The collection is the perfect antidote to the same old Christmas songs, a tradition that wears itself thin each year. As The Young Folks wrote in its original review of the project, Punk Goes Christmas blends “aspects of rock and modern music with a Christmas theme. Who doesn’t want to give the holidays a little edge after hearing ‘The First Noel’ and ‘White Christmas’ for the tenth time in three weeks?”
Click here to pre-order or stream/download Punk Goes Christmas
Track Listing:
SIde A:
- New Found Glory – Nothing For Christmas
- All Time Low – Fool’s Holiday
- Real Friends – I Had A Heart
- Man Overboard – Father Christmas
- The Summer Set – This Christmas
- Crown The Empire – There Will Be No Christmas
Side B:
- Yellowcard – Christmas Lights
- Issues – Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays
- Jason Lancaster – All I Can Give You
- The Ready Set – I Don’t Wanna Spend Another Christmas Without You
- Set It Off – This Christmas (I’ll Burn It To The Ground)
- William Beckett – Do You Hear What I Hear?
