I had to admit that I was starting to get a little worried. We were getting well into December, and there was still no Christmas music from Vista Blue. A Christmas without Christmas music from Vista Blue would not have felt like Christmas. I wondered if Heat Miser was up to something. But all is well in the holiday universe — yesterday Vista Blue gifted the world its tenth annual Christmas release in ten years as a band. I feel honored to have now written about nine of them.
You might have glanced at the EP title We Don't Know, Margo and asked yourself, "Did Vista Blue actually write a sequel to their beloved seasonal smash hit 'Why Is the Carpet All Wet, Todd?'?" The answer is yes they did! And this is one of those rare sequel songs that's even better than the original. Nowhere will you hear a more perfect 99 seconds of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation–themed pop-punk. Man, this thing is an earworm! The more idiotic this song seems, the greater it becomes. Bookending this gem are an ultra-peppy cover of Connie Francis's 1962 hit "I'm Going To Be Warm This Winter" and the Rusty Spell–penned "When the Christmas Tree is All Aglow." The latter is one of those downer Christmas songs that isn't really a downer because it's so musically alluring. Credit goes to Spell for writing an amazing song and to the band for achieving a tricky blend of upbeat and melancholy. As delighted and amused as I am by "I Don't Know, Margo," I would still say that "When the Christmas Tree is All Aglow" is the real "hit" of the EP. If I didn't know any better, I might have believed this was some forgotten standard from decades ago. "I'm Going To Be Warm This Winter" supports my theory that many of the best Christmas songs are actually winter songs which should not be taken out of anyone's rotation until pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Hats off to the band for realizing that this tune would work brilliantly as a pop-punk song!
Vista Blue's tenth Christmas release is one of its best yet. Now it feels like Christmas. Bring on the Christmas ale and NFL games on Netflix!
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