Category: Downloads

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Linedance Fever “Last Christmas” (2011)

The Linedance Fever - Last Christmas

Self-Released
Buy: Bandcamp

Like my fellow friend-in-Christmas Stubby, I too believe that the Swedish country-punk band, The Linedance Fever, have recorded one of the most wonderful and original versions of the oft-covered Wham! classic, “Last Christmas.” I have included a few covers of this song on my mixes in the past, each one quite distinct from the other… and this version joins the Erlend Oye version as the best that you can find. (They also have another Christmas tune, 365 Days of Christmas, and I may review that at some point… and I do hope they make some more.)

Bottom Line: A gem. If you have any taste, you’ll think so too. 🙂 5/5

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Memoryhouse “Christmas Island” (2013)

Memoryhouse - Christmas Island

Self-Released
Buy: Bandcamp

Memoryhouse released their second Christmas tune this past season, a cover of the Andrews Sisters’ minor classic, “Christmas Island.” As to be expected, it is quite pretty. The synths and drum machine give it an atmosphere that I haven’t heard on this song before – so it certainly checks off that “make it your own” requirement of a good cover. Not quite sure how I feel about the guitar solos, but I’ve never been a guitar solo guy to begin with. The track also benefits the New Moon Rabbit Rescue, so with every seasonal dollar you send, they help care for some adorable rabbits.

Bottom Line: Memoryhouse highlight a less-often-covered tune, and do it well. They might not have knocked my socks off (yet), but I’ll give it some more time to sink in. Generally well chosen, executed, and intentioned. 3.9/5

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Chk Chk Chk (!!!) – And Anyway It’s Christmas (2013)

Chk Chk Chk - And Anyway Its Christmas 7"

Warp Records

Buy: Bleep (7″, FLAC, WAV) | 7Digital MP3 | iTunes

!!! can’t put out music that doesn’t make you smile. They always seem to have groove spilling out of their clothes, and their first Christmas effort is no different. While it may have taken a listen or two for me to really get into, they eventually got me to the place where I love this song. With lyrics like, “It was nothing but a crush, / I was long resigned. / Thats all it was, / just something that stayed on my mind. / But I’ve been round the world / seen all kinds of girls but I’ve seen nothing better / than you in that sweater.” It may not seem like much… but the way they say sweater is just fantastic. That funky guitar really tops it off, and my foot can’t stop tapping, and my butt can’t stop moving in my office chair. Brother’s gotta work.

Bottom Line: This is a steal as a digital download (WAV! FLAC!)… and while a bit more pricey as a 7″, it is limited to a jaw-dropping 100 copies. Yes, you read that right. 100. 4.8/5

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Kill Rock Stars Winter Holiday Album (2006)

Kill Rock Stars Winter Holiday Album

Kill Rock Stars
Buy: Bandcamp | iTunes

Back in 2006, Kill Rock Stars was sending out CD-R copies of their brand-new Winter Holiday Album with a purchase of $50 or more through their webshop. This was the only physical release of the compilation, which is easily found now through most digital retailers. Its certainly not the most obscure independent release to review, but I do find it necessary to throw a bone out there to those who are just getting into this unfortunate obsession, and might not have heard of everything yet.

Kill Rock Stars Winter Holiday Album is the kind of idea that makes you super excited, which inevitably (in most Christmas music cases) leads to disappointment. I certainly don’t want to scare off KRS from another comp, but this record is all over the place. The pace, however, never picks up – it maintains a slow-to-mid tempo nearly the entire time. There are moments of gloom (Gold Chains & Jillian Iva: “Winter Kills”), drone (The Mary Timony Band: “Hapi Holidaze”) and silliness (Phranc: “Hannukah Snowman”) that activate my “skip track finger.” There is really only one track that I truly enjoy. The Everyothers cover of the Pretenders’ “2000 Miles” is done wonderfully – their voices certainly do it justice. They don’t reinvent the wheel, but if you are someone who 1) likes the song and 2) doesn’t want to include the original or the ubiquitous Coldplay version on your mix, this may be the one for you.

Bottom Line: The potential of a great label releasing a Christmas comp is tough to live up to, but I can’t bring myself to give it too much slack. I also haven’t got much sleep this week, sorry KRS, that might play into this too. 2/5

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Dr. Dog – Oh My Christmas Tree EP (2013)

Dr. Dog Oh My Christmas Tree - EP

ANTI
Buy: 7Digital MP3 | iTunes | Amazon.uk MP3

This release is nearly flawless. I loved every single song on this 4-song EP, and find myself justifying that any track could be on 2014’s Christmas mix. Dr. Dog has created a wonderful collection of original Christmas tunes that is unrivaled in both scope (4 great songs!) and originality. If I were to make ANY criticism, it would be to take out the verse sung by a child in “Rejoice,” otherwise a spectacular song. Even with that blemish, “Rejoice” still makes me swoon.

Bottom Line: One of indie rock’s modern Christmas classics. Why not release it somewhere where I can purchase a FLAC?? 5/5

[youtube http://youtu.be/dDC8PXIV9Kw]
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Christmas Off the Coast (2009)

Christmas Off the Coast

Decoder Magazine
Buy: Free!

After listening to the STELLAR winter/Christmas mix “The Way Snowflakes Fall” by cherrystarscollide on 8tracks, I found myself scrambling to hunt down some new Christmas tunes I had never heard. The main target of my affection was the stellar “Winter (Christmas Song)” by Memoryhouse. Known to many via their recent Sub Pop release, The Slideshow Effect, I was amazed to find a song from 2009 floating out there that nobody seemed to be talking about! After some digging, I found that Decoder Magazine had put out a small, free compilation back in 2009 titled Christmas Off the Coast, but to my dismay, all the links were broken and the original files had been lost on a stolen computer’s hard drive! So, I threw out a few shots in the dark and landed the entire release (thanks cherrystarscollide!!!). You may kindly download it from the link above, or right here. As for the songs themselves, this is a pretty strong release. The Memoryhouse track, of course, is wonderful. I wish they would release it as a FLAC on their Bandcamp!! Woodsman’s cover of “Little Drummer Boy” is actually palatable too… because its an instrumental! I never realized… I really just HATE THE WORDS! Weed Diamond‘s “Christmas, Baby Please Come Home” is perfectly fine too. Fuzzed out with a more lo-fi feel, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but there are parts (this one guitar part inparticular) that separate it from the pack. Wasters’ “Holiday” is another great instrumental piece that, with its brevity, just might sneak onto a mix. I Am the Dot‘s “Blue Christmas” is electro-on-the-edges enough to be interesting as well, for a song I generally don’t gravitate to.

Bottom Line: This is a great release – and I’m happy to bring it back to the masses! I could never give something a perfect score when it has “Little Drummer Boy” or “Blue Christmas,” but forget my personal prejudices and add another .5 to a release that you can enjoy all the way through. 4.5/5

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Benoît Pioulard “Rays in the Tallow” (2005)

Benoit Pioulard

Ghostly International
Buy: Free!

One of Benoît Pioulard‘s labels, Ghostly International, offered up three free tracks for Christmas way back in 2005, one of which was the wonderful track “Rays in the Tallow,” by Michigan’s Benoît Pioulard. If you are unfamiliar with his work (its a stage name, do your research if you are so inclined), then there is a lot out there for you to get into. This particular track is well within his style: beautiful, melodic, haunting and effecting. So take particular pleasure in glory that is this, the long-lost Benoît Pioulard Christmas track, “Rays in the Tallow.”

Merry Christmas, Everyone.

Bottom Line: Pure beauty. 5/5

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Eston “Lights on the Tree” (2013)

Eston "Light on the Tree" (2013)

Self-Released
Buy: Free!

“Lights on the Tree” is an excellent little tune by Raleigh, NC’s Eston. Brought to my attention by Stu from the Love Language (who lent his production skills, synth and backing vocals to the track), its warm production is a pleasant change from the largely emotional Christmas songs I’ve been writing about (and loving) lately. The lyrics are quite good too. My favorite part comes in the last verse:

Now you’re hardly gonna know so the day comes and goes mostly goes
feel it from your bed when your wrapped up in red,
Now your toes unfroze so that’s how I told you it goes
round and round the tree there for you and for me.

I love a song with a good ending.

Bottom Line: Great original tune, a free download, and it never hurts to have one of indie rock’s most accomplished Christmas songsmith’s fingers in mix. 4.4/5

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The New Mendicants – A Very Sorry Christmas 7″ (2013)

Very Sorry Christmas Front Cover

XPT Records
Buy: Limited 7″ | iTunes | 7Digital MP3

Joe Pernice (Pernice Brothers/Scud Mountain Boys), Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub) and Mike Belitsky (The Sadies) have created an alt.country/power pop supergroup called The New Mendicants, and are looking to release their first full-length LP on January 28. This would be news in itself, but the fact that they also released a limited, white vinyl 7″ entitled A Very Sorry Christmas Eve is the reason why I write this post! Joe has a history of some Christmas-related songs in the past (see SMB’s “A Ride” and another that I can’t put my finger on), but nothing so explicitly so. Thank goodness it finally happened! “A Very Sorry Christmas” is a fantastic song, the perfect bummer for the humbug in your family (which would be me!). But as with any Joe Pernice project, its a bummer that sounds beautiful while sucking out your soul. As for the B-side, “A Very Sorry New Years,” is the exact same song, just adjusted for New Years Eve. Oddly hilarious to have done so.

Bottom Line: If shipping from Canada wasn’t SO EXPENSIVE, I would rate this higher. I honestly don’t know when I’ll be able to afford it. Why I am telling you about it before I have the chance to own it… I have no idea. Perhaps the world will have some cosmic justice and I’ll get a copy. 4/5

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Adam Arcuragi “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)” (2011)

Adam Arcuragi - Baby Please Come Home

Self-Released
Buy: Bandcamp

Adam Arcuragi has a number Christmas tunes… and every damn one is excellent. He has been on 2 of my mixes, and this one narrowly missed making it onto this year’s (strictly a flow thing). It will remain the in the hopper for 2014…

This version of the oft-covered “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home),” has just what I look for in a cover – originality in interpretation. He re-imagines it with much darker production, slowing it down and finishing with a beautifully emotional last chorus. Hey, its short too. I always gotta love a short one, especially when its slowed down.

Bottom Line: I will likely write about Adam’s other tunes, but if you are so inclined, hunt down “The Belgian” and “Christmas Song.” This man needs to put out a Christmas record. 4.7/5

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