IT’S CHRIIIIIIISSSSSSTMAAAASSSSS. The time for festive cheer, good will all round and an abundance of cheese, cheese and more cheese on the radio/music channels/shopping centre play list. The appearance of these festive tunes will be greeted by some with open arms and a sloppy kiss. However, there will be some amongst you who may fly into an internal rage at the sound of Cliff, Wham and Shakin’ Stevens and think to yourself [inset side=right]...A cool Christmas song? You bet your baubles it is....[/inset]“why oh why can’t someone bring out a Christmas single that doesn’t make me want to batter myself over the head with a Sainsbury’s own Christmas Pudding?!”

If the latter sounds even vaguely familiar, you may want to have a listen to the new Christmas single from Boston based five piece The Hush Now. The band release this holiday single while working on their upcoming second album, due to be released in 2010. Wishing You A Happy Christmas has just enough ‘Fa La La’s’ and jingle bells to have you reaching for the mince pies, but still manages to inject a healthy dose of mellow indie-cool.

The track starts of subdued and even has a slight tone of sadness in the opening notes. However, it soon escalates into a pleasant verse and an up-beat and suitably sunny-sounding chorus. This is pure indie pop with an air of sophistication, you can imagine yourself sipping mulled wine in a romantic chalet with this in the background…or maybe that’s just me. While the single is unlikely to have a fighting chance against X Factor finalists and novelty songs for the number one slot it would be a welcome addition to any Yuletide playlist. A cool Christmas song? You bet your baubles it is.