Kristian Noel Pederson is so full of Christmas spirit, he just might burst. Year after year, he releases his jolly spirit in the form of Christmas records, and some years are jollier than most. This year we’re getting two records from Kristian and friends. The first one is a front-to-back reimagining of the classic Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers’ 1984 Christmas record, Once Upon a Christmas. This is Kristian’s wife’s favorite record… so it appears Kristian is putting all of us to shame in the gift-giving department. Teaming up with Rob Currie, Andrew Currie, and Michael McDonald (not that one!), the collaborative project gets a “You, Me & The Curries” billing, with Kristian’s upcoming record continuing his solo series. The guests on this are quite excellent as well, most notably Bet Smith in the pivotal Dolly role!
Christmas a GoGo! did a great job giving more context to the production of the record, quoting Kristian, “I’ve always been a bit turned off by the 80s production, and wanted to reimagine the album as a fast paced, country album. Admittedly, it gets a little wild at times, but all in all, I’m so happy with how it turned out.” They have created an absolutely charming, heartfelt cover record that I’m sure you’ll find a few favorites on. Of particular note, this is the first time (if I am not mistaken) that Kristian is releasing a record on a physical format – the beloved cassette tape! Only 15 available online (2 gone already – ordered one for me and one for @noloveforned), so go now if you want one!
FYI: This is not the first time Kristian has covered an entire record. Check out his cover of Hanson’s Snowed Inn from back in 2019 if you are curious!
Bottom Line: The first of two records from camp Kristian is yet another triumph in a string of steller indie Christmas records.
Gotta look for stable things to grab onto these days. I already see myself leaning harder into Christmas traditions, both as a source of familiar comfort and frankly, to have some sense of control in a world of uncertainty. Just ordered a new fake Christmas tree… yes, we are a fake tree family. This one is supposed to feel real… I bet I could find something there to write about. Feeling real…
Some bands have begun to establish themselves within my Christmas traditions – bands I look to every year with anticipation of something new and wonderful. Herr Wade and the whole crew at Platiruma!!! are most certainly in that exclusive club. This year’s offering is Herr Wade’s excellent 4-song EP, We Still Remember Funky Christmas. Herr Wade is a collaboration between Jørn Åleskjær (The Loch Ness Mouse, Monobird, Sapphire & Steel) and Sebastian Voss (Nah…, The Fisherman and his Soul, Cinema Engines), and this duo have now dropped mixworthy tracks for three years in a row. The standout of this EP is (IMHO) the German disco track “Schulbus auf dem Eis” (Schoolbus on the Ice). I speak a liiittttllle German, but I’m certainly not quick, so I was most appreciative when Sebastian gave me a bit more context for the song: “The story is about the slippery situation on the street after snow was heavily falling, the last day before x-mas season and being at least able to hold hands with your crush who‘s sitting next to you….”
Well, isn’t that just great? Christmas! Young love! Danger! An earworm of a chorus and a Nile Rodgers groove that satisfies German and non-German speakers alike!
Stone-cold mixworthy.
Bottom Line: In a world spinning out of control, Herr Wade are here for you and will make you move dein Hintern.
LISTEN
Here is a Google translation of the paragraph at the beginning of the video: With my most heartfelt thanks to my bus driver at the time, Herbert, in whose accordion bus I boarded twice a day between 1985 and 1994 as a “Reckenfeld bus child”, and who knew how to stoically maneuver the white Büssing vehicle with his equally white clogs through wind and weather. To this day, he has made many friends on his travels throughout Europe and Asia, but also on the scheduled services between Greven and Reckenfeld, and has covered thousands and thousands of “completely accident-free kilometers”. I take my hat off to this committed man, who has been so versatile right up to the ripe old age of almost 87, i.e. right up to the present day, and who has hardly changed in appearance in the past 30 years.
As we enter the darkest timeline, I’m going to do my best to keep moving. I’m going to provide support to those around me (you all included), and do my part to make this world just a little bit better. I’m going to try to redirect my anger and sadness and be constructive… and boy is that going to be hard because nothing seems to matter. That is going to be me on a good day. Lets hope the good days outnumber the bad.
So, on that note, let’s talk about a lovely song about depression at Christmas! The Reed Conservation Society is a French duo who for some reason has me thinking about Village Green Preservation Society-era Kinks. It could just be the “…servation society” similarity, but the orchestration is the same ballpark for sure. Throw in the Clientele as a touchpoint as well and now you’ve got an idea of where I’m going. The protagonist begins by eating oysters, cheese & crackers alone, and buying themselves “new pillows for my old dream into the sea.” The song might sound sweet, with lines like “Feeling so good to be alone now. Cheers to me, cheers to me, cheers to me.” Though follow that line with “I’ve got a special gift for free. / Médicine pills / angels talk slowly,” and everything takes on a much darker tone. It sure sounds like someone is finding a way out…
I must say, this is a lovely song. Without getting a little insight from the band, I might have thought this song was the happiest “I’m alone at Christmas” song I’d ever heard. I couldn’t quiiiite make out all the lyrics, which also kept me from knowing the true intention of the song. So… perhaps I will stick with that interpretation. Once an artist releases a song out into the world, we are all given a chance to interpret the song our own way. Perhaps “Funny Christmas” is a good barometer as to how I’m doing from day to day – is today going to be lovely and full of “David Crosby singing just for me,” or dark as fuck? Pretty much a toss-up – does today end in Y?
OF NOTE – I’m waiting on an email back from TRCS
Bottom Line: A very pretty or very dark Christmas song… a choose-your-own adventure of sorts.
What timing – to announce your new record on the same day as Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom’s album… I’ll let you in on a little secret: I ordered this record first. If you are new to this blog, you may be new to Sunturns, and I’m a little jealous of you. There are two previous records full of wonderful, original indiepop Christmas songs for you to discover. Comprised of members of Monzano, Making Marks, Little Hands of Asphalt, Moddi, and Einar Stray Orchestra, this crew has been killing it since 2011 – which predates this blog! Hell, you might say that they were part of the reason I started this thing… not enough folks were talking about Sunturns! Well, 2024 brings us Christmas III, compiling several tracks they’ve released in the years after Vol 1 & 2, while also gifting us a whole fistful of brand new songs. I’m incredibly excited about this one – and boy does that vinyl look pretttttty. Of note, if you haven’t bought Vol. 1 & 2 on vinyl… it appears they are down to 2 copies on Fika’s website. I nearly bought one today so I could have a backup copy…
There’s a rather extensive press release on their Bandcamp page – I’d say go there and check it out to further pump yourself up for December 6th. I will highlight one paragraph below that I found particularly useful (and endearing):
If previous albums Christmas I (2011) and II (2015) are somewhat different from each other, then Christmas III represents a fusion of the two. Sunturns’ debut is full of youthful exuberance and was recorded with plentiful overdubs in Oslo, while 2015’s follow up is more pensive and somewhat darker, and was recorded live during one week in the Swedish forests. Einar elaborates: “I love making records like this: short, effective sessions with limited time and therefore no bland ‘perfection’. There’s a nerve to knowing you can collectively bring it all together without the luxury of time”. Christmas III represents a return to the lighter tone, on at least some of the songs, but with the wisdom of age that emerged on the second. You can’t just return to your twenties, however much you might want to!
“You can’t just return to your twenties, however much you might want to!”
I don’t have the time for this today. Two of the biggest releases of the season, each popping up in succession on my Bandcamp feed. I’m not going to give away the other one yet (those in the know… know already), so I’ll start with the biggest news – a full-length holiday record from Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500/Luna/Dean & Britta), Britta Phillips (Luna/Dean & Britta), and Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3). While this was not necessarily expected, it is not exactly a surprise. Dean & Britta have long-dipped into holiday music, with Luna’s “Egg Nog” being a particular favorite. Dean did a Lagniappe holiday session a few years back on Aquarium Drunkard, and the pair also booked a full, holiday-themed livestream concert a few years ago (which was wonderful). However, the spiritual ancestor to this release is most certainly the holiday 7″ from back in 2007, “He’s Coming Home,” which features all three of these folks – and was absolutely killer. I’ll drop the press release below.
In a season where we all seek comfort, tradition, and a return to a home of sorts, a trio composed of indie music’s foundational members have gifted us A Peace of Us—an album of diverse holiday tunes filtered through their musical imaginations. Dean & Britta, well-known from their work defining a genre with Galaxie 500 and Luna, join Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom, another bastion of indie’s collective adolescence, to bring to life a collection that draws from early ‘60s pop, garage, country, James Bond soundtracks, Christmas carols, and electronica. Dean Wareham recalls a sentiment from his DJ friend Chris: “You can experience all the emotions of Christmas through music: love and hate, joy and heartache, nostalgia, regret, anticipation, and frustration.”
Their venture into a holiday album was organic, spurred by a few cover tunes over the years, a Christmas special during the pandemic, and finally collaborative sessions between Dean & Britta in L.A. and Sonic Boom in Portugal. The trio all contributed vocals, with guitars by Wareham, bass and keyboards by Phillips, effects, and mixes by Sonic. The result is an album of exploration as well as comfort, “like Bing Crosby…on acid,” Britta adds, the tracklist a reminder that the holidays are complex and tragicomic.
As is often the case with holiday merriment, the album has a soft undertone of the bittersweet. Wareham sings one of David Berman’s final songs, “Snow is Falling in Manhattan,” one Dean believes is “destined to be a holiday classic.” Its lyrics foreshadow Berman’s tragic death: “Songs build little rooms in time / and housed within the song’s design / is the ghost the host has left behind.”
The Christmas blues surface again with Willie Nelson’s “Pretty Paper,” rendered here as a duet between Britta and Sonic Boom, their pulsing synth-heavy production updating the song for a darkened nightclub rather than a bright honky tonk. This collection steers clear of the usual Christmas chestnuts, but fans of classic indie haze may find a new favorite in “Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy” (created for Bing Crosby and David Bowie’s 1977 TV duet). Wareham notes that “Our favorite version is the German one by Marlene Dietrich, so that was our jumping-off point.” All three sing this one together: Wareham’s tenor, then Sonic Boom’s thrumming baritone, and finally Phillips’ soothing contralto making the plea for peace.
If collaboration is the fuel, peace and mutual understanding is surely the fire, and A Peace of Us has us gathered around it. “Christmas is mostly for children anyway,” says Dean. Sonic adds, “Or the inner child in all of us. Goodwill to all men. Hopes and fears for the year to come. And light in the darkness. Where this festival began.”
I must say, this record sounds incredibly promising. I already know that it features both “Old Toy Trains” and “He’s Coming Home,” both stellar tracks, the first single – a cover of Willie Nelson’s “Pretty Paper,” is an electropop gem. One might say they found some wonderful new wrapping on this track… you could call it pretty for sure. And a cover of David Berman’s “Snow is Falling on Manhattan!” Not the first time Dean & Britta have tackled it, as it was featured on a Section26 compilation a few years back… curious if they’ve reworked this in a similar fashion…
The anticipation is killing me, and boy was this an expensive holiday music day.
T Swift has us all talking in eras lately, and I am not immune to the culture – so here we go. Kristian Noel Pedersen began his Saul McCartney era last year, with the stellar Saul McCartney’s Magical Holiday Season (AKKCXIV). The Evermore to that Folklore, KNP has gifted us with an unexpected and glorious follow-up, Christmas Around Town!. For those unfamiliar with the concept of these records, they are an imagined collaboration between KNP and imaginary 60’s pop icon Saul McCartney. This year’s record features an increasingly strained relationship between the two, as the voicemail messages from an annoyed Saul McCartney provide the delightful framework for some of KNP’s best work. From the wonderfully amusing “Waiting for Christmas” with its gorgeous guitar work, to the clever Polar Express-inspired “Dear Santa,” and the beautiful horns on the inspired “Hallmark Holiday,” there is so much to love here. Just press play and attempt to pick your favorite, I dare you.
Challenge accepted! The highlight for me has to be the two sides of “City Streets, Holiday Road.” I loved the amusing lead-in by Saul McCartney, threatening KNP not to make his song sound like “Morrissey-ass 80’s British beeeeep,” nearly as much as that absolutely perfect, Morrissey-ass 80’s British version of the song that of course, KNP makes. This song is some of KNP’s best writing to date – the nostalgia, the memories, while not becoming terribly sad… walking that razor’s edge of happiness and sadness that leaves me wholly impressed. “The city streets / echo the places that we go. / The memories / of playing outside in the snow / And you’re still there / Still see you underneath the lights / Your auburn hair / even if you’re not there anymore.” That’s just a small selection – the whole song has plenty of gorgeous lines. However, what I did not expect is to find myself wondering whether I would put KNP’s “City Streets, Holiday Road,” or the flip side to this track, the version of the song that ends the record, sung by Saul McCartney (aka the incredible Harlan Guthrie). This 60’s pop-crooner version is so warm and delightful, as Saul sings in conversation with these perfect trumpet melodies, so damn gorgeous that I became incredibly conflicted. That first section of the song is so impeccably produced, I found myself amazed it was new, and hadn’t existed for decades; It just FEELS like it should have. KNP has cracked the code for creating a lovable, believable fictional singer/band within another piece of art, a feat hard to explain other than by pointing to other successes like The Oneders in “That Thing You Do,” or Stillwater in “Almost Famous.” There is a quality to this character that makes you want to know more. Truly incredible.
Bottom Line: I feel some magic here… I hear the bells once again. Thanks Kristian.
WIAIWYA (Where It’s at is Where You Are) Buy:Bandcamp (CD/Digital)
You think you know a label… After putting out three of the best indiepop compilations of the past decade-plus, beginning with 2010’s Christmastime, Approximately, then the excellent Stars in 2018, and 24 in 2021, one would imagine you get the label’s vibe. You, sir, are mistaken! 2023 brings us WIAIWYA’s most ambitious and expansive release yet, the 3-CD, 30-song collection of largely instrumental, electronic, and ambient Christmas songs, all ruminating on the theme of snow. This is how WIAIWYA describes their new release, snö: “The idea was to put together a Christmas album for escaping the stress of the holidays – canceling Christmas parties to turn the lights down, put on your slippers and have a listen over a sherry…” I wasn’t expecting this record from WIAIWYA, but I completely get the motivation.
I don’t really cover much ambient music here on Christmas Underground. I honestly don’t know if I have the vocabulary to give a credible critical review. I can say that I’ve been listening to it as I putz around the house, and have found myself wandering off to some very weird places in my mind. However, keep in mind the weather in Virginia had been unseasonably warm at the time, and a forest fire had turned the sky a hazy yellow… so songs on the theme of snow was an odd choice. I try to imagine how this record will feel gazing out at some snow, and I have to say, the idea sounds lovely. If any readers live in northern territories and can test out this theory, I’d love to hear back from you. As for me, I’m going to continue walking around the house, forgetting why I went downstairs for a bit longer this holiday season. Thanks, snö.
Bottom Line: There is a time and place for all types of Christmas music, and this extensive collection of ambient Christmas music can most surely find a place in your collection and your holiday. I strongly encourage you to buy it today, #bandcampfriday, and be sure that WIAIWYA gets the entire cut, and those (insert your preferred swear) at Songtradr get nothing.
You know what is better than a few cookies? How about an entire bag! Hot on the heels of last year’s epic, two volume, 108 track opus of alternative Christmas music… it comes for us once more. Fellow weirdo Christmas-music fan Kevin McGrath didn’t plan to put this record together, it really just, kind of happened. He meant to add a few tracks to each record, slap a deluxe sticker on there, and raise some more funds for Crisis, a UK-based charity that services the homeless. Soon, Kevin realized that it would be easier and likely more successful to market the record if those additional songs he had received clearance after the cutoff last year, were put together in their own, new collection – which sounds like a fine idea; let’s maximize the potential to do good. So back into the fray, back to the hunt for more bands’ contact information for Kevin… and after one more, final herculean effort, Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas (Volume III) is now under our tree. This release, just like the stellar duo who preceded it, is lined with hit after hit after hit. There are many bands here that the 15-20 folks who read my blog will likely already know and love (Virgin of the Birds, Wake Up and Smell the Sun, Charlie’s Hand Movements, The Ornaments, etc, etc, etc.), but I’m sure you’ve missed a few here and there, and the chances you’re going to love it are pppprrrreeeettty high. Oh, didn’t you forget to pick up that Jacklen Ro song you loved, since it wasn’t on Bandcamp? I can also see you picking this record up, and listening to a song you’ve heard before, but connecting with it on a deeper level – yeah, you just needed some time to grow with that song. I’m thinking you should probably pick this one up, even if you’ve already got a couple of the tracks… just to be safe.
Volumes 1-3 are a guidebook to an alternate universe of Christmas music that few know exists. If you already live here, celebrate it. If you are just dipping your toes in the water, jump in because these 143 songs will provide you with plenty of depth. Swim with us, won’t you?
Bottom Line: You’re getting 35 stellar songs, conveniently packaged by a man high on his own supply of Christmas cheer, and all your money goes to help the homeless. That’s a win for everyone.
After what seemed like a pretty slow start to the season… it has, as expected, heated up FAST. Large releases everywhere, procrastinating bloggers struggling with work, making dinner, self-worth, and Covid in the house. How about we slow down, and enjoy one of the most beautiful releases of the season, Laisse le sapin allumé, by Montreal’s Châteaubriand.
As I have mentioned before, I do not speak French. I can sure listen to it though. I can also listen to the gorgeous french horns on “Romance de Noël,” and those warm drum fills on “Tempête.” I can let the outro of “21 décembre” wash over me. I can soothe my mind to the plucking of a banjo on “Notre dernier sapin.” This entire E.P. is a thing of beauty… well… musically at least. They could be singing about shooting puppies on Christmas eve for all I currently know. But… what a lovely massacre that would be, I suppose.
Bottom Line: This is the shortest, least informative review of what is bound to be one of the best releases of the season. Perhaps put a pin in this one and buy it tomorrow, on Bandcamp Friday.
The French band Bleu Reine has released some of the best holiday comps of the past few years, while not necessarily always releasing strictly holiday compilations. The first year (2021) is choc-full of Christmas and seasonal tunes. Last year’s release has one(?) song that might be considered seasonal song, a cover of “Holidays” by Poinareff. This year reflects last year’s more than the debut, with two songs (I believe…) lining up as Christmas-mix contenders. Now, you might be wondering, why did I just say they put out some of the best holiday comps? These really aren’t holiday records… true, but the other music is good. They are enjoyable, whether they are holiday songs or not – you’ll find some great covers of Radiohead, Mark Lanegan, Phoebe Bridgers, Wings, Haddaway (ha!), Waaves, The Beatles, etc. So… they are still worth your time!
NOW to the Christmasish songs. The Marinas contribute a very pretty, lo-fi cover of Low’s all-time classic “Just Like Christmas.” (I wish I could find out more about this band – Google is not being very helpful.) There is a warble to this song that begins with the vocals, only to be accentuated by the theremin (?) that I hear in the background. Somehow, The Marinas have managed to construct a version unlike any I’ve heard before, and as this song is the alternative-Christmas gateway drug… I’m always here for a new fix.
The other song that I *believe* to be Christmas-adjacent is the track by Cecilia, “Décembre,” which is an Alex Montembault cover. I did my best (well, a solid try) to find the lyrics to get an idea of what the song is about… but alas… I failed. If can’t speak French, but I can most certainly enjoy the music! Fuzzy guitars! Catchy chorus! So I do! And so might you! Exclamation mark!
Bottom Line: Just a few holiday songs amongst some other great covers… I’ll take it!
Christmas Underground 
