Primordial Void
Buy: Bandcamp
Of all places… The Fader (not known for breaking new Christmas music) tipped me off to this excellent new Christmas tune by Pleasure Systems (aka Clarke Sondermann). Well, certainly glad I caught it, as “Merry Christmas” is one of the strongest bedroom pop tracks of the year to date. Laid back, with lyrical and sonic twists that keep you engaged throughout, Clarke’s relaxed speak-singing style (as well as the lyrical approach) gave me some real Soltero vibes (who also have Christmas songs… that I might have to write about as well). (Edit: How did I not hear a Postal Service comparison before! Totally!) The song is warm, with fluttering accents popping in and out of the arrangement. There is a lot here in less than three minutes. Leave them wanting more, and I do.
Reading a bit about the motivation behind the song, I felt this rang true for many of the Christmas-ish songs I tend to feature on Christmas Underground. Clarke states “Merry Christmas” is, “A meditation on holidays as marking points in time… not quite Christmas music, instead utilizing familiar winter imagery as a backdrop for self-reflection on cyclical relationships and past versions of oneself.”
Christmas really does have a power, and whether you are a believer or not, the nostalgia, the sentimentality, or simply the flagpole it plants at the end of every year is something that many of us grapple with, whether we are aware of it or not. There is a heightening to everything… fertile ground for good art if you can find your way inside the artifice. I think Pleasure Systems found themselves a key.
A quick final note. For those who like holiday vinyl, there’s a 7-inch that is limited to 100 copies. Feel free to send me one if you are feeling generous!
Bottom Line: My son really started grooving on it last night, and was happy to have me play it over and over… so that is a rather large vote for this being mixworthy. He is really going to have a weird concept of classic Christmas music when he’s my age 🙂
Christmas Underground 