It seems that the only requirement these days to release a Christmas song is that it contain some semblance of jingle bells in the instrumentation and maybe a brief mention of snow. I’m not a fan of Christmas music; for the most part, I find it dorky and un-challenging. But yesterday, I wrote about the really great Los Angeles Police Department song “Oh Lonely Night,” and I think that I’ve changed my mind a little bit. I went into the Milwaukee-based band Field Report’s new track “On Christmas Eve” willing to surrender to holiday cheer and found myself totally surprised, again. “On Christmas Eve” is a stuttering track about a Christmas Eve car crash. At just over two minutes, it’s a suspenseful Christmas miracle that leads up to the subtle but gorgeous moment when the protagonist thinks his brother died. Chris Porterfield sings, “We thought he broke his neck/ But he just bit through his lip.” Listen below.

(via Paste)