Sometimes a band's talents lie not in their ability to play instruments but in their ability to use their lyrics to make people laugh. The LeeVees are one such band that uses humor to send out a holiday greeting.

The LeeVees story starts out not with the start of the band, but with the start of two other groups. Adam Gardner's initial band, Guster, has been successfully rocking the college circuit for years while the Zambonis, Dave Schneider's band, has been singing about nothing but hockey for the past 15 years. Then, this past year, while the two bands were on tour together, the duo got to talking, throwing around the idea of possibly starting their own little band.

As they were talking casually about starting a band, it was surprisingly Adam, not Dave, who suggested that their new group revolve solely around the idea of being Jewish. Not only that, he wanted their first album to be a holiday album, about Chanukah. That day, the two began jamming and started to write the first two songs of the album. Impressively, the two musicians wrote the entire album in eight days, which is not so coincidentally the length of Chanukah.

While their first album, Hanukkah Rocks, doesn't show the full musical capabilities of either of the band mates, it does have a nice holiday cheer to it that is hard to find. The music isn't bad by any means; in fact, it is quite up-beat and presents lyrics that will make anyone, Jewish or not, smile.

The first track on the album "Latke Clan" opens with acoustic guitar plucking reminiscent of Guster. One string is being plucked intermittently as the sounds of the drums are brushed in the background. The chorus is completely joyous — "We'll put the oil into the pan/ So come and join our Latke Clan/ Cause we are Latke Fans." This song sounds a lot like the many traditional festive ones out there, but presents a humorous twist, singing about food instead of a holiday in itself.

Another song, "Goyim Friends," is much more rock-like with a hard drum beat and constant strumming on the electric guitar. The keyboard adds a higher note to the track and, in that way, makes the song sound a little more humorous, suggestive of Napoleon Dynamite. When the duo sings, "All my goyim friends/ Are eating up their ham/ Honey-glazed, baked to perfection," one cannot help but laugh at the references that are mixed with this pop-rock sound. The sound speeds up at the end and doesn't forget to continue that festival gaiety with a Beach Boys like chorus cooing in the background.

"Acoustic Timeshare" has a bluesy feel combined with a Hawaiian punch. There is a piano being tapped in the background, a high but smooth pitch resonating through it, and a ukulele-like sound adds to the tropical feel. The chorus is comedic and doesn't even relate to Chanukah with the LeeVees singing, "At the timeshare/ Down in Boca/ Or was it Boynton or Daytona/ It doesn't matter/ Just as long as it's in Florida." At the end, a group of people join together to sing the chorus a couple times and, intermittently throughout the song, Dave's mother comes on the track to talk about her events and happenings at the timeshare.

While the album probably couldn't be listened to more than a couple of times, it's perfect for the Chanukah season. Not only does it add cheer with instrumental combinations, but it also adds humor with its clever lyrics. This album is a fun, festive look at Chanukah — perfect for the whole family.

Grade: B