I will admit to being a fan of the “Punk Goes Pop” collection. While I am usually more of a pop and rock fan, the punk versions often sound even better than the originals. However, the new Punk Goes Christmas, released this past Wednesday, was regrettably a bit of a disappointment.

The opening track, “Nothing for Christmas,” by New Found Glory, seemed to not even have a sliver of punk in it. The thing that usually makes these albums so much fun is the combination of styles. This song lacks that special effect and the melody falls quite flat.

“Fool’s Holiday,” performed by All Time Low, is much more like the tunes to be expected from these albums. The holiday spirit is quite apparent, but the punk is there too. The track is actually quite mellow, but the punk apparent in the vocalist’s voice creates a unique blend that should be cherished.

“Father Christmas,” is pretty much just a terrible song. It is about beating up Santa Claus and mugging him for all his money. It complains that the rich boys get the best toys. It kind of left me with very few words…

“This Christmas (I’ll Burn It To The Ground),” by Set it Off, is just satanic. The sounds are creepy, the lyrics involve murdering people, and the song overall is just scary.

“This Christmas,” by The Summer Set is smile-worthy. The track embodies what the point of this project is. It takes a track that is originally not a punk song and adds only a few punk changes. Unlike some of the other tracks, it is still completely apparent that this is still a holiday track.

“There Will Be No Christmas,” by Crown the Empire, was brilliantly done. It is one of those classic songs about how a person leaving takes all of the holiday spirit with him/her. The message is definitely a classic punk one, but the melody and lyrics classify it as a Christmas work.

“Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays,” done by Issues, deserves an honorable mention here. While the track was not something I will be listening to more than a couple of times, they must be commended at the spin they put on the song. They definitely made it their own through guitar riffs, screamo sections, and a couple of instrumental solo sections.

“I Don’t Want to Spend Another Christmas Without You,” by The Ready Set can be described in one word: fun. Though the title might portray a depressing mood, the tune is really uplifting and optimistic. This song is sweet, not upsetting.

This is definitely not the reaction that William Beckett intended, but “Do You Hear What I Hear?” had me laughing in hysterics. Something between the lyrics and the beat just did not mix. The song reminded me of something like “What Does the Fox Say?” I lost it.