Parodies offer a pretty convenient metric to tell whether a piece of work is truly great. If the comedic take on a song or album are excellent, it’s a safe bet that the source material is something to be reckoned with. Think Weird Al Yankovic’s Michael Jackson lampoons or (for a more recent example) “Curls in the Squat Rack.”
Such is the case for Gift Up, a note-perfect holiday reimagining of the Postal Service’s Give Up from Local Business Comedy, which asks the question, “What if Ben Gibbard happened to be Santa Claus.” It has no right to be as good as it is, but Gift does for Christmas music what the original did for crying in your suburban bedroom.
The group behind the album isn’t exactly new to this. Last year, they reworked Kanye West’s Yeezus with the same conceit: Santa Claus, tho. Local Business Comedy have clearly learned a few tricks since then, because “New Sleighs” and “Red Hat Head” can’t hold a pine-scented candle to “Such Great Flights.”
If nothing else, the 10-track album a welcome break from the endless repeats of Bing Crosby or (God forbid) “The Christmas Shoes.” It’s no Merry Indie X-Mas, but it will certainly do the trick.
