Month: December 2014

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Seth Pettersen “I Called You Last Christmas” (2014)

Seth Pettersen "I Called You Last Christmas"

Self Released / Burger Records
Buy: Bandcamp

The Burger Records’ crew is always churning out indie rock/garage rock Christmas tunes this time of year, and finally, Seth Pettersen has gotten in on the act! I really loved his 2012 release, Natural Machine, so I was pumped when I saw his song pop up on Burger’s Holiday playlist. It’s a simple song, Seth gets high, calls Sasha, gets the message. Perhaps done by anybody else, I wouldn’t enjoy it quite so much, but Seth is just great. I should be more academic, but I just really like Seth. Even if you don’t like this song, check out that link above for Natural Machine. I wore that cassette OUT.

Bottom Line: Seth Pettersen all up in your earholes. 4/4

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Lapland “Maybe on Christmas” (2014)

Lapland

Self Released
Buy: Stream

Lapland, the moniker of Brooklyn singer/songwriter Josh Mease, just released a nice indiepop “original song hastily recorded” today, and I rather dig it. Synths flutter as a flickering flame as Mease sings about staying safe & sound by the fire on Christmas – in a tone that I’d equate to a Mark Mothersbaugh-scored scene in Life Aquatic. So, turn off your “Switched on Santa” and give this modern-synth Christmas a spin.

Bottom Line: Certainly growing on me – would love to have an actual download of it somewhere. 3.9/5

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Shy Nature “Sweet Winter Rain” (2014)

Shy Nature - Sweet Winter Rain

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

Shy Nature had one of my personal highlights last year with “It’s Christmas (Close Your Eyes).” They have returned with a brand new tune, paired with the wonderful one from last year, on a limited-edition cassette. Did I say limited? Yes… 25 copies! They artwork is handmade, and with it, you’ll own two great Christmas tunes by this wonderful British band.

Bottom Line: Two great seasonal originals you won’t be sad to own. 4.5/5

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Beans & Fatback “Tonight Girl I’m Coming Back Home (X-Mas Edit)” (2010)

Beans & Fatback "Tonight Girl I'm Coming Back Home"

Excelsior Recordings
Buy: Stream

The Netherlands’ own Beans & Fatback have just dropped a (I stand corrected – thanks Christmas A Go Go!) have a Christmas edit of “Tonight Girl I’m Coming Back Home,” and its a rocking, bar-band R&B good time. While it wasn’t originally a Christmas song, it very much works in the “Coming home for Christmas” milieu. They’ve even adjusted the lyrics very slightly to place it at Christmas, and it works perfectly. Check out this tune, then go down the rabbit-hole to their other stuff – its really pretty great.

Bottom Line: Solid Christmas R&B that could easily find a place on your mix. Points shaved off for no obvious way of purchasing or downloading this great song! 4.6/5

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Blades Club “What You Get Me (For Christmas)” (2012/2014/2015)

Blades Club "What You Get Me (For Christmas)"

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

This post has been edited for the 2015 remaster.

Dublin’s Blades Club‘s “What You Get Me (For Christmas)” is one of the best rocking out Christmas tunes I’ve heard this year. Originally released on Youtube back in 2012, you can now get a remastered, high-res FLAC download on Bandcamp! Blades Club has channeled the best parts of the Strokes, blended it with surf vibes and great lyrics to create an absolutely wonderful Christmas song. So, I would recommend a quick listen, then fork over a euro and support Blades Club!

Bottom Line: Simply said, fun rocking out Christmas tune. 4.8/5

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Kate Canaveral “Merry Christmas Everyone” (2014)

Kid Canaveral

Lost Map Records
Buy: Free!

Kid Canaveral are a Scottish indie pop band who weaseled their way onto my 2013 mix with “Low Winter Sun.” They also throw a Christmas party called “Christmas Baubles,” and are on their fifth year of this wonderful event. I say wonderful, but alas, I only imagine it is… since I can’t pop across the pond for every Christmas concert.

Kate Canaveral is one quarter of Kid Canaveral, and she has taken it upon herself as self-appointed “head of mainland operations” for Lost Map records to record and release a great little electro-indie-pop cover of Shakin’ Stevens’ “Merry Christmas Everyone.” I sure hope that Lost Map gives us a few more tracks for #Baublemas!

Bottom Line: Great choice for a cover – and certainly put her own mark on it! 4.5/5

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Noise to the World 2: Converse Rubber Tracks Holiday Music (2014)

Noise to the World 2

Converse Rubber Tracks
Buy: Free!

Converse is at it again! Noise to the World 2 dropped, and while the Soundcloud play count suggests otherwise, they snuck by me once more! Well, for 2 days or so at least. This one is looking HOT! Four of the six tracks have dropped, with two more coming tomorrow (DUM DUM GIRLS with an ORIGINAL SONG!).

For starters. The GRMLN track, “Before December (You’re Alive)” has a great vibe that any self-respecting indie rock fan will enjoy (hi, I’m one of those folks). I love the programmed beats with the acoustic guitar. GRMLN’s got a new record out, as well as some great covers on their Youtube channel – check them out.

Deer Tick have written yet another Christmas tune, “White Havoc,” though the melody is crazy familiar. Fuzzy guitars, dark lyrics and instruments that sound as though they are battling for space – love it. When are they just going to bite the bullet and write an fuzz rock Christmas classic record?

I’ve got to say – These Rubber Tracks releases seem to seek out and find great rap Christmas tracks. The Michael Christmas track, “Pleasant Winter,” has a great backing track. I love the mix of nostalgia and getting some – there’s something real there. IamSu! Feat. HBK CJ & 1-O.A.K. bring us “Next Season,” while not terrible, is unfortunately not my vibe. The production, with the autotune and the tin-ny programmed beats are certainly a rap convention… but not one I tend to be attracted to.

The final two tracks are just about as different as you could get. Torreblanca & Iraida Noriega’s “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” is the only non-original song on the release… and while its quite nice, the only part that I really got into was towards the very end. The vocals & the music swell in an unexpected way, which was quite nice. The Dum Dum Girls‘ electro-pop “On Christmas” strikes me as a natural progression from the sound of their last album, Too True. Synths dotted that album, lying just under the Jesus & Mary Chain guitars… they just went full-electro on this.

Bottom Line: An even stronger showing than laster year’s generally excellent Noise to the World. 4.6/5

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Crying Day Care Choir – Christmas Day Care Choir (2013)

Crying Day Care Choir - Christmas Day Care Choir

Self-Released
Buy: Bandcamp

Last year the wonderful German blog Lie in the Sound pointed me toward this beautiful folk EP by Sweden’s Crying Day Care Choir. The two best tracks, “Christmas Day Care Choir (Falala)” and “First Christmas” bookend the release, and led to a very tough decision when considering which one to include on this year’s mix. I finally decided to add “First Christmas,” which surprised me. Sweet Christmas songs have never really been my forte, and this is most certainly the sweetest to make a mix. The song is grounded in a reality that I found beautiful, and try as I might, I was unable to talk myself out of adding it. It was just too good.

Bottom Line: Simple, beautiful folk music and harmonies from Sweden. 4.8/5

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Support the Artists

As we gear up for Christmas, please keep in mind those fine creators of excellent Christmas music, and be sure to BUY their music. The only way we’ll keep getting new songs is by supporting the artists who create them. Buy a LP. Buy a t-shirt. Buy a song. If you love it, donate to them even when it says “free.” Christmas Underground is not about directing you to whatever the next free Christmas song is, nor will it ever help you find it illegally. I always prefer to be able to provide a “Buy” link, because when something is truly great, I viscerally want that band or singer to really benefit from their good work. So, if you are finding my site from a forum somewhere out there that is trading full rips via mediafire… please know that this is not that kind of place.

Support the artists.

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Saint John and Farmer Jesse “Snowy Evening” (2014)

Saint John and Farmer Jesse

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

Saint John and Farmer Jesse put Robert Frost’s “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” to music, and hot damn if it doesn’t work wonderfully. The whole thing is unexpected – the vocals are a touch gravely, and the music, with the programed beats and the jangling guitar, are far from what you might expect if you were to be presented with the prospect of this song. Internet, feel free to correct me, but in my basic searches (mainly Youtube), there is NOTHING coming close to a treatment like this (at least for this poem). This is just one track off their new, wonderfully-titled Christmas record, Krampus and Clover. Check it out, perhaps other tracks may tickle your fancy the way this did mine.

Bottom Line: I really enjoyed their approach, and while not an original “song,” their choices most certainly are. 4/5

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