There are calm, soothing versions of Christmas carols and standards that are amplified throughout shopping malls and big box stores. But Montreal blues rock group Izzo Blues Coalition have injected a fresh sense of verve and energy with their blistering cover of "Merry Christmas Baby." It's a performance that would make Santa question whether he wants to put himself on the nice or naughty list.

Ripping guitar riffs, hot-as-hell horns, plus a torqued, musclebound rhythm section with firestarter vocals and the swagger of rhythm and blues masters delivering the goods with confidence and precision... These key ingredients combine and react for the Izzo Blues Coalition’s explosive new single, “Take It or Leave It”.

The song serves as the title-track for the Montreal-based band's forthcoming sophomore release; Take It or Leave It is set to land this Fall.

Check out “Take It or Leave It” on YouTube: izzobluescoalition.com/

Conceived and recorded during the heart of our global pandemic, Take It or Leave It was chosen as the new album title for not one, but two life and art-affirming reasons. “Thematically, the title track deals with the notion that we have no choice but to get up every morning and make the best of it,” band co-lead Tino Izzo says. “It’s a theme that resonates throughout the album and speaks to our pandemic experiences.

“Secondly, this collection of songs was conceived for the sheer pleasure of it.”