A very admirable, and higher quality (than most) charity compilation by Anthologies has come out two years in a row now, and I do hope it becomes a yearly seasonal occurrence. Donation amounts are left up to the giver, and all proceeds go towards supporting the homeless.
While I must admit, there was nothing that I fell in love with, I found it a very listenable compilation. The Birthday Kiss‘ “Sentimental Christmastime” was released outside of this compilation first, but is certainly a welcome addition. I happen to be a fan of The Lodger, so a Lodger side-project (The Birthday Kiss) will always garner a bit more attention from me. Dancing Club’s “Silent Night” brings new phrasing and instrumentation to what I normally find a very boring song. His voice is odd, yet good enough to be interesting – and I do love a banjo. Finally, These Men‘s “How Come You’re Only Nice to Me at Christmas,” is another to check out – great lyrics, nice music and short – always a bonus. The rest of the record is certainly listenable, and your personal song preferences will likely direct you to like songs that I might simply cross off out of my personal prejudices. For example, I hate “Wonderful Christmastime.” HATE it. So, that’s me.
Bottom Line: Good cause and overall very listenable. Keep em coming Anthologies. 3.8/5
Its been a whoppingweek or so since I’ve written about Jens Lekman. What can I say, he’s top-5 all-time for me. However, this may be my last post about Jens for a good while, in that I don’t know of any other Jens’ Christmas tunes. Please feel free to correct me, and subsequently, make me forever in your debt.
“I Don’t Know What to Do With This Information” has only been performed live so far, with a very high quality version coming from a Maida Vale Session back in 2011. Such a sad song, not in the sentimental way that “Christmas Shoes” (BARF) is, but with a realism that brings it a little close to home, even if you haven’t specifically lived through something like that. Its called empathy and Jens brings it out well.
Bottom Line: So, so very sad. I can’t bring it over 4 because I just can’t listen to such a sad song over and over again. 3.9/5
Super Furry Animals have a wonderful little Christmas song hidden away on their 2007 release, Hey Venus, which you need to become aquatinted with. Also released as a Dec. 25, 2007 free download from their website, “The Gift that Keeps Giving” is the Christmas single that Gruff Rhys believed needed to be on a SFA “pop record.” Its such a sweet song, but of course, Gruff Rhys and the SFA can’t be believed as sweet, sentimental artists. The video certainly expresses their true intentions, a disturbing sendup of commercial Christmas, which makes it much more fun.
Bottom Line: Love this song. Love this band. Buy the whole record: It’s all good. 5/5
High hopes are never a good place to start. Though I know you should never judge a book by its cover, a Swedish indiepop band named Annie Hall checks three of my boxes: Swedish, indiepop, and a Woody Allen reference. How could it go wrong? Well, first off, this thing was a huge pain to get ahold of. You can’t order from the label (they do not ship to the US), and thus I had to get it from France, and pay more in shipping than the CD cost. Not looking good already, because if you know this blog, cost to obtain certainly plays into the overall rating.
Annie Hall begins the disc with “Morning News,” a fine-enough little song that I can’t for the life of me figure out how it’s seasonal. Their second song, “Walk Around,” does begin with “It’s Christmas time / Here’s an old song / for a new year.” They also mention snowballs… but really, it’s a bit of a downer right out of the gate with the dour music. Not something I really want to listen to again. Bummer.
I had thought that Gonzo48K was a Japanese band. Based on information I could find at the time, it sure looked like they might be. Nope, they are an Italian duo, which makes far more sense being paired with another Italian band on an Italian label. “Snowman’s Tears” has the kind of music that I wish Annie Hall had – upbeat, poppy, certainly in a Swede-pop vein. The lyrics, well… “So darling / You make me colder / you make me older / you close my folder?” Not exactly what I’m looking for, but really, English is their second language, and they write better songs in English than I do in Italian. “Turn off the Radio” is a much better attempt. It may even be on a shortlist for future mixes… I dig the backing beat, and the lyrics are much better: “Walk through the street light / in the Christmas time / Back to the starlight / Where the children write / Turn off the Radio / Turn off the Radio.” Still not quite telling a story, but certainly evocative when complemented by the contemplative backing track.
I found an Italian website with a note from its initial release, and I do like their motivation – which makes me feel even shittier about not really liking the record 🙂
We wanted to celebrate Christmas 2007 with a recipe EP. So we asked Annie Hall and Gonzo48k to interpret the Christmas theme through recipes and music, according to their own inspiration and style. The result is this EP of 4 songs and 4 random recipes from their and our traditions, the kind that when you smell it, oh, it’s Christmas! And down with the slippers and the hot chocolate… Because both rural folk and fucking romantics love to eat well in front of the fireplace.
Bottom Line: Good luck trying to buy it, especially in the US. Certainly not worth the price it cost to import, with only one possible song. Loses points for all the wrong reasons. 1.2/5
A beautiful indiepop Christmas tune is hard for me to ignore. Fireflies hit the nail on the head with “Xmas Song” back in 2007, and was featured on my 2010 mix, Write About Xmas. The melancholy, the atmosphere, the brevity… it has it all. While it certainly borders on twee, its so good that those twee-phobes you are friends with may even find this song palatable. As an added bonus (and what prompted me to write this entry), Fireflies has added At Home to his Bandcamp. At Home is a collection demos, alternate version and unreleased songs, and at “name your own price” is a wonderful place to begin. On this record you will find a demo version of “Xmas Song,” along with two other mix possibilities, “Snowstorm (Original Demo)” and “Winter Has Come.”
I’ll get back to the tougher reviews when I get a bit more free time.
This is the second of my series of Jens Lekman posts. What prompted me to so quickly dive back into the Jens Lekman catalogue? Well, he updated his website yesterday, and seems to suggest that he sold only 16 records last year. While I find this absolutely baffling, I would still like you to take a moment and discover Jens’ music if you haven’t already. If you are already a fan, you may be excited to know that he is presently accepting orders directly from his home for signed CDs at a “pay what you wish” price point, as long as you also cover postage. Normally I would jump all over this, but I already have all his records, and had the pleasure of meeting him a few years ago and he graciously signed my 12″ of When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog.
Enough exposition about Jens and why he needs the support of those who love him, and those who have yet (but most certainly will) to love him. Back in 2011, Jens surprised us with a small present on his Smalltalk blog, a modest, 3-song zip file of holiday piano pieces he wrote in San Francisco back in 2005 – hence the title. They are all instrumental, but each quite lovely. Certainly a worthy pickup for its price: Free. Take that money you saved by not having to buy anything and buy one of his other records, for yourself or for a friend.
Bottom Line: Simple, thoughtful piano pieces from one of my absolute favorite artists. For the price, it cannot be beat. In the right context, I might even sneak it on to a mix. 5/5
Allo Darlin’ have a long history of Christmas tunes. In fact their first-ever release was a Christmas EP. I may review that one day soon as well; we’ll just see how it shakes out. I am not hear to talk about the distant past, but the ever-so-recent release from 2012, their WIAIWYA 7″ from last December. The Christmas song that resides on the A-side is one of my absolute favorite of the past few years, “Only Dust Behind.” This is one of those tracks that I just always come back to. My only regret… that I was unable to get my act together to buy a vinyl copy. However, as consolation, a lovely FLAC waits for you at the link above. I will not bloviate any more, you really just need to listen to it.
The Bears released this lovely little 7″ record back in 2009, and I am flabbergasted that they are still available. Limited to 250 copies, the Bears are offering up this EP (6-songs!) for a mere $2! The songs are classic indiepop – beautiful music, melancholy lyrics. I recently revisited their Twitter account, and they made mention of their love of the Acid House Kings. This love, which I share, can be heard throughout this record. Standouts (for me) are “Easy Days” and the slow grower “Holidays.” Also not to be ignored, the extremely cheery “Merry Christmas Have a Happy New Year,” where the Bears delightfully sing “To all the people we hate / have a terrible year.” Hussah!
Bottom Line: Truly worth the $2, and then some. 4.5/5
This is one of those pretty ubiquitous releases that everyone knows about already, at least, for those searching out indie rock/pop Christmas tunes. That said, its not one of the better ones. I want to single out a great track that you NEED TO HEAR, but I’m at a loss to find one. The entire release is ok, but just that. Nothing on there makes me cringe, but nothing makes me excited. It hurts me to say so too, in that I really like the Parasol label, and greatly miss their distro.
However, don’t take my word as sacrosanct. I may be looking for something that you are not, and again, nothing on this release really sucks to the point where I would discourage you from listening on your own.
Bottom Line: When I think of average, I think of a record like this. 3/5
So, this is the first in a series of Jens Lekman Christmas tunes I plan on posting. If you are familiar with the Swedesplease.net Christmas rundown, than you know and love this particular song already. If not, please do enjoy your first listen.
Jens Lekman released this little gem on the appropriately titled October 2005 : USA Tour EP. There are only 200 of these handmade CDrs out there, and one day I hope to be in that elite group. For now, I will have to settle for an MP3 (though I did suggest to his management that some of us would love a Bandcamp site). “Run Away with Me” starts off extremely strong – jingle bells and the driving beat that those familiar with Jens’ earlier, more uptempo work will absolutely love. The lyrics are also classic Jens. Since its a short song, I thought I might post them all:
What are you gonna do on Christmas Eve Please don’t spend it with your family I know you love your mommy But she’s more like a mummy
She’s so empty, She’s so empty So run away with me
She’s so empty She’s so empty So run away with me
Yeah I know it’s been a bad year And I can trace every tear Back to your little life But I can see a future for you and I
Because we’re not empty We’re not empty So run away with me
We’re not empty We’re not empty So run away with me now baby
If you make a mix that is at all along the lines of mine, then this song is either already on one, or NEEDS TO BE. What a weird, dark, beautifully orchestrated Christmas song.
Bottom Line: This is one of my favorites. I really, really, really need a higher source than the MP3 that Jens’ website offers. Anyone out there want to help a guy out? christmasunderground(at)gmail.com. 5/5
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