
2. The First Noel
3. Christmas Time Again (I'll Be Good Next Year)
4. Little Drummer Boy
5. Silent Night (Instrumental)
ARTIST WEB SITE
BANDCAMP
AMAZON MP3

Turns out Philly's SPiN also released a digital Christmas EP towards the end of November. "Christmas Time Again" features the title original, 3 holiday standards rocked up and an instrumental version of one of them, "Silent Night".
SPiN makes classic Power Pop rock in the tradition of such great bands as the Raspberries and Cheap Trick and, for we fans of catchy pop music that rocks with great guitar work throughout, SPiN is definitely worth checking out.
The band's approach to "Silent Night" is very much as you might expect Cheap Trick to cover the song--nothing "silent" about it. "The First Noel" starts off AC and sweet, but shifts into a show-stopping head-bopping Pop/Rock tune with terrific harmonies and an awesome guitar solo that's not to be missed. "Little Drummer Boy" has enough energy to keep you up all Christmas Eve and even more outstanding guitar work.
And, were that the end of the story, we could all be thankful that SPiN has added a such a rocking Power Pop Christmas set to a market far too glutted, these days, with endless albums of pretentious faux rock. "Christmas Time Again" is highly enjoyable Power Pop for the holidays, as far as that goes, and certainly (without ANY doubt) mixtape worthy. But that's not the end of the story.
On the band's official web site is a little yellow box offering up three tracks from the band's 2011 full length "Believe". And those three songs are absolutely revelatory. Wow! SPiN absolutely blows the roof off the sucker and you're instantly transported to a virtual convertible '68 Mustang, speeding down the interstate with the top down and the volume up as high as it'll go. Maybe there's even a beautiful blonde bikini babe by your side. Why not? It's your fantasy, after all. This band ROCKS! The title track, alone, is a perfect blending of the best elements of Power Pop. It's a meeting of The Raspberries, The Cars, Queen, The Ramones, Rick Springfield, and (especially, imo) The Knack, distilled down to only the best and then fuel injected with enough high energy Pop Punk to fuel the entire country for a year and a half. The guitar work is incredible. And, as if that wasn't enough, the full "Believe" album is currently a name-your-price Bandcamp download. That one includes a great cover of the Zombies' "Time Of The Season". Talk about yer Christmas presents. Then there's the band's most recent EP, "The Scream Inside", which rocks even harder, if that's possible, but still captivates with pop melodies and irresistible hooks. And it's clear from this one (again, imo) that the band is progressing and growing even stronger. The songwriting is a bit more intricate and yet even tighter.
SPiN makes me want to move to Philly, that's how good they are. The Christmas EP is merely a small window on a house that really rocks. Keep your ear out for these guys; they are something special.