Un-remember everything you think you know about Christmas records. Throw that tired, tinsel-covered playlist out the frozen window. Astro-Lloyd just crashed the holiday party with a bottle of something strong and a three-track wrecking ball called “Greetings from the Galaxy“.
You know the rules. Legacy acts cash in checks, kids’ choirs sing off-key, and washed-up bands scrape the bottom of the idea barrel for a festive payday. Astro-Lloyd? They spit on the rules. These five dudes—David, Nils, Matthias, Andreas, and Gustaf—operate on pure, unadulterated instinct. And their instinct told them to hijack the season and inject it with a lethal dose of melodic chaos. Recorded in their own home studio, this EP is evidence of the band’s DIY guts and their signature sound: energetic, self-aware, and gloriously unhinged.
Kicking off the aural assault is a festive re-imagining of “Searchlights,” a track ripped from their debut album, Astro Life. The original was never meant to be a Christmas song, but the band heard the people. Its lyrics, always simmering with December stress and the manic energy of trying to be everywhere at once, were a powder keg waiting for a festive fuse. So Astro-Lloyd lit it. They doused the thing in sleigh-bells and fuzz, turning it into a full-blown Christmas anthem that sounds like it was written in a panic, with wrapping paper strewn everywhere and a double-shot of espresso in hand. It’s the soundtrack for anyone who’s ever felt the season’s pressure cooker about to blow, and it’s a damn masterpiece.
Then, they have the sheer, swaggering balls to take on a monument. “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” is a cultural institution. Most bands would tread lightly, offering a respectful, boring cover. Not these guys. Astro-Lloyd tore the Lennon/Ono classic down to its foundations and rebuilt it in their own image. They reshaped the arrangement, twisted the harmonies, and injected it with their own Nordic-rock energy until it sounded less like a cover and more like a lost Astro-Lloyd B-side from 1971. It’s a slapping track that proves a classic song can still be a vehicle for pure rock innovation.
And just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they close the show with a left-field haymaker. The EP’s final track is a turbo-charged, heartfelt cover of The Wannadies’ “You and Me Song.” Why? Because it’s a killer tune, that’s why. It’s timeless, melodic, and bursting with the kind of dizzy, euphoric happiness that this band clearly lives for. It’s their gift, a small present for the fans who’ve ridden with them all year. They’ve taken a classic 90s gem and supercharged it, turning it into a roaring, celebratory blast that feels perfectly at home in their chaotic Christmas vision.
“Greetings from the Galaxy” doesn’t promise peace on earth. It’s better than that. It delivers a weirdly joyful, slightly chaotic, and deeply authentic Astro-Lloyd Christmas. It’s the 2AM soundtrack for anyone frantically wrapping presents, fuelled by caffeine and the beautiful, stressful madness of the season. This is a BAND, in the truest sense of the word, and this track the only holiday miracle you need this year.