Self Released
Buy: Free!
Parker Lewis (Emil Johansson) is one of my favorite Swedish Christmas music songsmiths. In fact, it was the Christmas tunes that got me in the door far enough to buy his latest record, and that’s all in Swedish (which I don’t speak – and its wonderful). Now, Emil has recorded a number of Christmas originals and covers in the past, so when he posted that he was sending out 10 CDr to a lucky few who responded to a FB post the other day, I got crazy excited and e-mailed immediately, asking if it might be Christmas songs. While it turned out that I was not one of the ten lucky recipients, he did not seem to suggest anything about a Christmas song in his response to me. Little did I know he had a Christmas song in his back pocket. “Merry Christmas” is a melancholy little song. The first line sets the tone. “I’m in love with you / even though you don’t call me anymore.” Don’t despair, while the melancholy remains, some wonderful lines sneak into this song that clocks in at barely over 2:00. For example, I really like the line “and I wished for impossible things each Christmas / none of which come true / So this year, baby / I wish for you.” Check it out for yourself, and especially check out his older Christmas songs if you haven’t already. I’ve included the ones I could find on Soundcloud in the box below, but there’s a cover of “Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis” and “All Alone on Christmas” out there too.
Bottom Line: Great melancholy indiepop Christmas if that’s your groove. Now with a download!! 4.1/5
Christmas Underground 