It’s been a while since this unholy collaboration of The Agrarians and Krestovsky launched one of their musical missiles from their dungeon headquarters in Baltimore but it is, after all, the season to be jolly. Ok, jolly and subversive.
Why subversive? This version of the classic carol is almost too conventional for these purveyors of warped madrigals. There must be a hidden meaning or a nefarious purpose behind this song. There must be. It is the Krestarian way to bemuse and confuse but from the muted trumpet to its curious lack of finale, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” sounds like a bunch of good natured, sparked up and out hippies sharing the love with the expected hit and miss harmonies hitting far more than they miss.
Have The Krestarians been faking it all along? Do they really live in a Volkswagen microbus? This is the time of year when answers should be sought, especially to these questions.
The song is available for download from the Free Music Archive.