More tinsel! Mehr Lametta, in Maybebop's local vernacular, and the punchline to a literal dad joke. It's a fitting title for this very Christmassy of holiday albums. You can have traditional Christmas, corporate Christmas, contemporary Christian Christmas or generic Christmas, but it will definitely have more tinsel and more Jesus than your average collection of softly-fallen snow tunes.

Old-fashioned Weihnacht is my personal favorite, in keeping with my longstanding favorites. Maria durch ein Dornwald ging is a really lovely carol, mostly unknown in Anglo-Saxon lands except among choir nerds. Markt und Straßen stehen verlassen is another standout standard, and I quite enjoy Maybebop's take on Campana sobre Campana. I'm not entirely convinced by the piped-in giant choirs on the choruses — it's pretty yet it also reminds me of an insurance commerical — but it's a gorgeous tune, beautifully sung.

Oliver Gies does most of the arranging and a lot of the composing, and he put together a really nice mix of music. Several of these songs focus on advent specifically, an observance that has seen something of a renaissance in recent years alongside the candy crush of the szn. It's interesting to consider in the context of Danke Jesus, a literal birthday song for the messianic birthday boy that would not be out of place on an Amy Grant album. All of the music on Mehr Lametta feels warm and welcoming, but it's not a secular free-for-all. Neither is it bound to tradition, however. After all, they placed Vorfreude, schönste Freude, the most advent-y and traditional of the advent songs, after and not before the birthday jingle.

The swingy Weihnachtsblues puts me in the mood for a company party. So does the catchy Weihnachtsstreik, with its bouncy percussion and echoes of Uptown Funk in direct contrast to its anti-Big Christmas message. The lyrics are about how we've all lost the true meaning of Christmas and need to get back to our roots. But when I hear the chorus, "Ich bin es leid, den Neid und die Scheinheiligkeit" (I'm tired of all the greed and hypocrisy), my brain immediately goes to "Saturday night, and I'm in the spot, don't believe me just watch!" Girls, hit your hallelujah.

English-speaking audiences willl be hugely entertained by Oma wurd' gerammt von einem Rentier, Maybebop's translation of Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer. Not only are the lyrics still funny, but there is some extra hilarity in how they vocalize the guitar twang: "frown, frown, frown!" Campy bliss.

I quite enjoy this set of tunes, Christ Child and all. If you're not in need of a fully ecumenical winter wonderland, perhaps you will, too.

Maybebop continues its forward march into a cappella history, releasing yet another fantastic collection of music, this time all in the Christmas Spirit.

Mehr Lametta opens with practical perfection: pure beautiful singing that grows into a lush, heart-stirring arrangement of The Christmas Song. For Maybebop virgins needing some convincing, this track does the trick. (Welcome new fans!) It's exactly the kind of musical handshake that puts listeners at ease with the talents of the singers and at the edge of their seats with interest. And as a plus, these German singers deftly handle the challenge of sung English.

This is unlike the album's other English work, God rest you merry, gentlemen which is also beautifully sung, but in which more than a few words will stand out to native English speakers for their very non-native pronunciation, the most egregious being com-FORT rather than the more familiar COME-fert. Classical background aside, it's still a distraction. But the singing, arranging, and musicality still earn the track an excellent score.

This isn't the group's greatest release, in that every single nuance of musicality isn't plumbed to its ultimate depths, as per normal, but the album is still undeniably excellent throughout and well worth the listen, especially for native German speakers. The knock comes only because Maybebop themselves have set the bar so high on previous releases. Lesser for them is still pretty amazing. One literally feels the group could roll out of bed and still be so musically aligned, so expressive and so accurate that only bedhead and pajamas would give it away.

Listeners will undoubtedly discuss amongst themselves the bold choices on God rest you merry, gentlemen. With melismatic flat 2nds and 6ths and open harmonies providing an unexpected Middle Eastern flavor, eyebrows will raise. Will it divide the audience? It might. But think how much more wonderful it is to be engaged or enraged by an artist's choice than to slowly perish by the thousand cuts of bland platitudes, pop imitation, and met expectations. Maybebop offers so much more.

Arranging, always fantastic. Singing, always impressive. Production, inspirational and worth a comment. Many producers deliver the bold and bombastic. Maybebop is, at times, no exception, but their touch is a light one. They rarely shed their a cappella skin in the way that so many contemporary groups do. Instead they enhance the core essence of unaccompanied singing. The expose their voices and their genuine group sound. It's quite a rare balance and a delight to listen to.

As always, we recognize that most of our readers are English-speaking natives. We don't have data on how many also speak German. It is unquestionably true that Maybebop is a motivation to learn it. For those who don't feel drawn to the language, Mehr Lametta may not be a good fit; twelve of fourteen tracks will remain behind the curtain. That may be too wide a bridge to cross. But if anything could convice listeners to try, I suspect it's Oma wurd' gerammt von einem Rentier, or as you may know it Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer. If that doesn't bring a smile to your face this Christmas season, then your heart might just be, as Dr. Seuss says, two sizes too small.

Just one year after the absolutely triumphant Die Gedanken sind frei, Maybebop replaces folk with Christmas for a stylistically diverse album in Mehr Lametta. Between buoyant joy, clever ideas, and a few timeless classics, simply put, Mehr Lametta is a gift to us all.

In classic Maybebop fashion, the quartet finds ways to maximize the vocal quartet medium. This is achieved in many ways, including but not limited to effective chord voicing, multiple texture changes in potentially repetitive songs, and stylistically diverse repertoire. Like the folk music of Die Gedanken sind frei, traditional Christmas music is often strophic, or written in parallel verses that could sound the same but for different words, and similar in style. Maybebop's decisions in diversifying the stylistic choices of each tune, such as the hefty percussion under cathedral-like reverb vocals in God rest you merry, gentlemen contrasted with the majestic vocal jazz of The Christmas Song and the zippy rhythms of Sind die Lichter angezündet, keep the momentum going and make it a far more interesting listen than a standard traditional vocal Christmas album.

That's not even to speak of some of the most notable bright spots: the brilliance of Christoph Hiller's bass on Weihnachtsblues and his attention to detail in his performance on full display. Everything from scoops and articulation to laid-back phrasing and legato, and it's buoyed by the simple sultry background vocals of the group. The trademark innovation of the group in using the birthday song to bookend Danke Jesus (and to do so in a way that is not only novel but musically excellent) adds to the strong middle section of the album. And if you've never heard Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer in German, it's quickly become a holiday favorite of mine: Oma wurd' gerammt von einem Rentier is nothing short of an energetic romp, filled with character and expressivity. The gripping and emotional power in Grünland is followed by the delightfully surprising Spanish tune Campana sobre Campana, which oozes with charm.

Mehr Lametta is another hit from the powerhouse quartet from Germany. Don't wait for Christmas morning; Maybebop's holiday album is ready for you as soon as you find listening to Christmas music appropriate.