Seattle-by-way-of-Long-Beach institution Robert Deeble has a deep discography containing multitudes (including collaborations with fellow Ball of Wax contributors Tomo Nakayama and Shenandoah Davis) and here offers a sinister gothic take on “Veni Emmanual” . . . or “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” for all you non-Latin reference heathens.
If you are prone to cynicism or are just plain weary about the impending holiday season and wish to trojan horse a more subversive selection onto your holiday playlists this year, this slow burn of an interpretation will do nicely. Falling somewhere (to this reviewer’s ears anyway) between the cinematic scores of Ennio Morricone and John Carpenter, this take sets its scene in a world where the prophesied savior may actually be humanity’s ultimate downfall. If that sounds awfully prescient and you want your relatives to contemplate the downward slide of our culture and climate under the mistletoe, then you’ve come to the right ghost town.