Month: August 2017

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Follies “Christmas Day” (2017)

Follies "Grave Matters"

Self Released
Buy: Stream

Random strokes of luck, that is often what Soundcloud feels like to me. Don’t get me wrong… I LOVE SOUNDCLOUD, and would be lost without it. But anyone who has ever done a keyword search knows my pain. Thankfully, every so often you strike silver and gold (Christmas pun!). Kate Siefker, also known as Follies, has fought her perfectionist tendencies and released a bunch of tracks that she was working on in 2013-14 under the title Grave Matters (2013-2014). Included amongst these beautifully layered tracks is, yes, a Christmas song! “Christmas Day” is a beautifully raw track, with ukulele, (maybe guitar too?), beats and handclaps circling each other for just over two minutes. It is certainly not your usual ukulele fare, so those expecting the expected… you may be pleasantly surprised.

Bottom Line: Short, raw and beautiful. Best of luck with your move Kate (if you see this.)

LISTEN

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Okay Kaya “Holiday Song” (2016)

Okay Kaya "Holiday Song"

Self Released
Buy: Stream

NJ->Norway->NYC singer/songwriter Okay Kaya (aka Kaya Wilkins) released this little gem on YouTube last season, and it was deservedly touted by my Christmas-music-blogger-in-arms Christmas-A-GoGo. Her voice is beautiful, yet with a mournful quality, and the message, while not your typical cheery Christmas romp, is most certainly relatable. My favorite line is, “I want to talk, I want to talk, I don’t want to talk, I want to talk loud and confidently.” There is something refreshing to the honesty found in the struggle embedded in the lyrics. I don’t think I’m far off-base to say that a quick glance at the central premise of this song might lead a listener to quickly dismiss it (as I think it would be terrible as either the pop-punk or twee song I imagined in my head), the line “All I want for Christmas is therapy,” threatens to be both trite and precious in equal parts, but Okay Kaya does a wonderful job to fully develop this song into a beautiful and complicated view of the other side of Christmas.

Bottom Line: Okay Kaya built upon a concept that I was almost reflexively suspicious of, and made me a believer.

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Deleted Scenes “Get Your Shit Together for the Holidays” (2009)

Deleted Scenes - Birdseed Shirt

What Delicate Recordings
Buy: Bandcamp | Amazon.uk MP3 | Amazon.de MP3 | iTunes

I’ve been considering this track by Washington, DC’s Deleted Scenes for more than 5 years now… and that is by no means a knock against the song that it has yet to make a mix. Mixes are delicate creations, a balance of tempos and moods… all stuff you already know I’m sure. That said, “Get Your Shit Together for the Holidays” is damn heavy.

“get your shit together for the holidays
you can cheer up, take some medication
keep your shit together for a couple days
you can fake whatever it takes. ”

It is moving, explicit, heavy, oddly uplifting and best listened to loud. The music is delicate and epic, moving as the tides through the song. There is very much something here… it just has to have the right neighbors.

Bottom Line: The Deleted Scenes may have deleted themselves back in 2014, but good music knows no expiration.

LISTEN