This is Los Straitjackets’ second holiday album, following 2002’s ‘Tis the Season for Los Straitjackets, and judging by the results, the surf rock band can crank out satisfying carols until they exhaust the canon. As the Ventures and Santo and Johnny proved, Christmas songs are awfully adaptable to surf rock beat; in this case, Los Straitjackets one-up their forerunners by giving everything a post-modern twist. Not only are these carols updated to the rock ‘n’ roll era, but their done in a way that refers to other rock classics. “O Come All Ye Faithful” near-quotes “Apache” and “Telstar,” “Deck the Halls” adds a bit of “I Fought the Law,” and “We Three Kings” merges with Dick Dale’s “Pipeline.”

As smart as the album is, it’s not brainy nor overly self-conscious. If you don’t recognize the references, Yuletide Beat still delivers straight-ahead holiday rock ‘n’ roll