Colbert, you've been bumped. Wide-eyed English indie-pop duo the Boy Least Likely To, who a couple of years ago pinned a fine yuletide tale to their song "Little Donkey", are in before Thanksgiving with the first 2008 Christmas-y song any of you are likely to want to hear again come January. Seasonal mostly in the ecumenical sense, like "Winter Wonderland" only with an "Away in the Manger"-like tempo and spirit of wonder, new single "The First Snowflake" is slated to appear on the forthcoming follow-up to 2005's fondly remembered The Best Party Ever. By the sound of things, yes, there will be more presents.Like a couple of other songs expected to appear on the sophomore set, "A Balloon on a Broken String" and "I Box Up All the Butterflies", "The First Snowflake" tends toward the sincere, clear-headed perspective of a sharp and sensitive child. Maybe the production values have improved a little bit, but the band's home recording setup still leaves room for small, intimate details-- do I hear a chair creak?-- and the bridge is the kind of angelic-tones singing, jingle-bells jingling thing I could imagine my parents playing before breakfast Christmas morning. Bells, lilting guitar, crisp woodwinds, harp, and "Little Drummer Boy" drum fills surround whispery harmonies that only make me regret that they didn't go back go back in time so the kid who did the voice of Linus on "A Charlie Brown Christmas" could sing it. If you're someone who might enjoy a song about a unique and precious snowflake, then you definitely won't mind finding this in your stocking. To the rest of you, bah humbug, and may Billy Corgan bless us, every one.[from "The First Snowflake" single and a forthcoming album; single due 12/15/08 on Too Young to Die, album due in March on Too Young to Die in the UK and +1 in the U.S.]