​Daniel and Lauren Goans, the indie darlings also known as Lowland Hum, are back again, one year after their gorgeous release Thin, with gifts for the holiday season. Songs for Christmas Time is one of those rare collections that hits all the right notes, and offers us a path through the hectic days to come. If you are looking for a place of rest and solitude, tucked inside the celebrations, this is a fine place to start.
Christmas albums, as a genre, are a mixed bag. There are the traditional records, with all the classics you know and love, there are the goofy and wonderful kitchen sink releases, unpredictable, yet entertaining, and there are those that are plainly dreadful and commercial.
Some of my fondest memories as a child were of Christmas mornings, with the family. The best gifts were an interesting mix of things you wanted, things you needed, and things you never thought of but grew to love. Songs for Christmas Time is that sort of gifting. There are seasonal songs you know by heart, some traditional tunes that you may be unfamiliar with, and a chestnut or two from Johnny Cash and Vince Guaraldi.

MVP is a solid dose of Texas bar-rocking blues. The combination of Malford Milligan on vocals, and Tyrone Vaughan on guitar hit you like an uppercut. Raw, bracing, tough as nails, Vaughan’s fretwork is all you might expect coming from the Vaughan family tree. The son of Jimmie and nephew of Stevie Ray, Tyrone is his own man, ably handling the expectations and proving he is ready to add to the legacy of his kin.

The album opens with “Soul Satisfaction” and immediately we’re off to the races. Milligan’s R&B crooner has been replaced by the growl of a desperate broke-down boogie man. His ragged, full-throated soul shouter is at the top of his game, and plays nicely against Vaughan’s razor-sharp riffs. The rhythm section is wound tighter than a spinster’s corset, courtesy of Chris Maresh on bass and Brannen Temple on drums. This is how you grab a listener’s attention.

“Dangerous Eyes” follows and keeps the party train rolling. The guitar work is springy, elastic, and extra greasy. Milligan is captivated by the eyes of a beautiful woman, and can’t help himself. He is caught in the throes of obsessive love at first sight. Expect a restraining order to follow.

One of the highlights of the record is a cover of Buddy Guy’s “Leave My Girl Alone.” A straight slow blues number, Vaughan tears it up, turning in a fiery and expansive solo. A warning from Milligan to a third party, the song implies there will be consequences if the meddling continues. Milligan gets downright creepy and menacing on this one. When he sings “I’m not an evil man, but I might do something wrong,” his voice projects a sinister undercurrent that makes your hair stand on end. By the end of the song you know he has already picked the place to dispose of the body.
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Milligan and Vaughan work together so well that one hopes they take this act out on the road. Their collaboration is dynamic and intuitive, each man playing to his strengths while giving the other time in the spotlight. With talent like this the project could easily go off the rails and become self-indulgent. Milligan Vaughan avoid the trap by keeping the focus on the songs. Everything is working here, and MVP serves as a model for any young blues player that wants to see how you make a great breakout record.