Christmasville - Rosie Flores

Rockabilly filly and honky tonk queen Rosie Flores turns down the rhythm just a bit as she hangs up the mistletoe on this solid seasonal disc. Christmasville was Flores' first solo album in four years, and as fits the material, there isn't much spitfire rave-up on these numbers if you were hoping to hear her rock out, but Flores' vocals are in sassy and supple condition, making with the blues on "Blue Christmas," sounding spunky on "Christmas on West Mistletoe," letting her heartache run free on "My Christmas Tree Is Hung with Tears" and rockin' easy on "Run Rudolph Run." She also contributes her usual fine guitar picking to these sessions, and if she doesn't exactly blaze on this set, she and her bandmates give the material a warm and engaging living-room feel which plays up the easy charm of the material without slighting the very real gifts of these players. Flores also contributes some worthy additions to the canon of cool yule tunes with "Secret Santa" and the title cut, and the covers are well chosen (the album even closes with a version of " "Happy Christmas [War Is Over]" that brings something new to John Lennon's venerable broadside). If Shiner Bock and quesadillas are on the menu for your holiday bash, Christmasville is just the thing to be spinning on your stereo; it's fun and well-crafted stuff for hipsters of all ages. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide