Vista Blue - Keep It All Year

If it's Black Friday and I'm not listening to new Christmas music from Vista Blue, then it doesn't really feel like Black Friday. Keep It All Year is 2019's installment of Vista Blue holiday merriment. The title sure seems to imply that songs of this nature are appropriate listening for all seasons. I will absolutely concur with that. We are talking about a band that leaves free music under our trees several times a year! I am continually amazed by how this band can be so very prolific yet still always deliver top quality songs. Keep It All Year features three original songs: one written by Todd, the other two by Mike. If you are normally put off by the excessive cheerfulness of Christmas songs, you might enjoy the snarky humor of Todd's crunching punker "Merry Christmas To Me". "Secret Santa", on the other hand, is an upbeat love song that's as sweet as punch ("And the twenty dollar limit's not enough to let you know what you mean to me/'Cus I'd buy you all the stars, yeah/And the sun and moon too"). Man, this one goes straight to my heart. LOVE IT! Wrapping up the EP is a holiday sentiment we can all agree upon, "I Want New Ramones Songs (For Christmas)". I've gotta say that although we'll never actually get new Ramones songs for Christmas, this track might be as close as we come. If I were walking through the mall and heard this song piping through the speakers, I would literally jump for joy. I've heard lots of bands imitate the style, but very few ever capture the true spirit of the Ramones this perfectly.

My holiday season could not have gotten off to a better start. The Cowboys lost AND I have great new music from one of my favorite bands?! If you refuse on principle to partake in Christmas music, just think of this as a Vista Blue EP that happens to be set at Christmas time (like a pop-punk Die Hard or something). Or if you hold a more progressive world view, well....keep it all year!



-L.R.

https://wearevistablue.bandcamp.com/album/keep-it-all-year 
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