Category: Singles/Tracks

Posted on

Legends of Country – It’s A Long Way Back From A Dream (2014)

The Legends of Country - Its' a Long Way Back from a Dream

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

This little gem has popped up last year on Stubby’s, and I really wish I had noticed the subject matter of the release earlier than I did (I’m on their e-mail list!!). The Legends of Country are the indie-pop/country hybrid brainchild of Jof Owen from The Boy Least Likely To. Jof’s voice can make any country song sound indie-pop, so no amount of twang can take the indie-pop heart out of these tunes. Both tracks feature seasonal fare: the title track “It’s a Long Way Back from a Dream” is a twangy tale that spins the story of Richie Burnett, world champion darts player, as he heads to defend his title on New Years Eve. The imagery is sad & beautiful, and when the trumpet enters the mix, the instrumentation engulfs you. It’s pretty spectacular.

While the A-side takes us on a New Years journey, the B-side brings us back home to Christmas. “From St. George to Snowflake” is another beautiful story-song that tells of a Christmas Eve car ride. The lyrics present a modest and beautiful tale of love and Christmas. Its not hard to place yourself directly inside the verses, and the warmth it exudes is palpable. Finally, there is a wonderful guitar line that shimmers throughout this song… and it gave me goosebumps. Lovely.

Bottom Line: The indie-Christmas pedigree could not be ignored, and astoundingly, the Legends of Country have exceeded my already high expectations with these two incredible tales. 5/5

LISTEN

Posted on

Faye and the Scrooges “X M A S” (2014/2015)

Faye and the Scrooges

Self Released
Buy: Stream

Well, I got tweeted at earlier this month – which is always a treat for a niche music blogger.

I immediately began listening to the new Faye & the Scrooges Christmas track, much to the dismay of my wife. I mean really… who could live in my house and be sick of Christmas music. Well… perhaps the dog isn’t sick of it… I haven’t asked him yet.

“X M A S” has a bit of a “Terrible Presents” groove (their wonderful song from a few years back), but the subject matter makes perfect sense for this festive band. Each year, this group of friends gets together and records a Christmas tune to share on Christmas eve at the pub. It makes wonderful sense that they might document these holiday shenanigans in song. Too many jager-bombs the night before (no doubt while passing around their new song) leads into a food and drink-filled Christmas day. This is the kind of Christmas day that I also look forward to, but mine doesn’t usually have a good beat.

Bottom Line: F+TS remain one of the best Christmas pop bands out there. 4.3/5

LISTEN

 

Posted on

Ellen and the Escapades “Christmas Time” (2014)

Ellen and the Escapades - Christmas E.P.

Self Released
Buy: Stream

Ellen and the Escapades released on of my favorite Christmas songs of all time with “By the Fireside” on the For Folk’s Sake 2012 release. So, to have “Christmas Time” pop up in my Soundcloud feed is well… like Christmas! Any reader of my blog will know that I love a short Christmas song and this one clocks in at 1:24! This tight package may be small, but it holds a diamond. Their originals are just so good… it really makes you wish they would commit to a full LP. “Christmas Time” does lack the groove that I loved in “By the Fireside,” but apples can taste just as nice as oranges. (I would love to hear “Silent Night” as well, but I can’t find it!!)

EDIT: Their new project is called Shadowlark, and they re-rerecorded and re-released the song. It has more lyrics and more production. It is good… but I do prefer the older, more raw version from E&E. I wrote about it in 2018!

Bottom Line: Ellen and the Escapades do it again! 4.5/5

LISTEN

Posted on

Jess and Frank Charlton “Give Me the Love” (2014)

Jess and Frank Charlton - Homemade Holiday Vol. 5

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

Los Angeles’ Jess and Frank Charlton are on their fifth volume of Christmas releases, and this one is pretty great. Granted, I’m only talking about one of the 2 songs, but that’s because I’m trying to cram in a couple posts while out of town at my inlaws. “Give Me the Love” is quite a nice pop Christmas song. It certainly doesn’t deserve the “comedy” tag they’ve given it. Jessica wrote this little song, a song of sweetness and simplicity. The production is pretty great for what I imagine to be a bedroom operation. Kudos, please keep it up!

Bottom Line: For two crazy kids who just love Christmas, you’ve outdone yourself. 3.9/5

LISTEN

 

Posted on

Sleepwalkers “Under the Christmas Tree” (2014)

Sleepwalkers "Under the Christmas Tree"

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp (NYOP)

Richmond’s Sleepwalkers are going full Brian Wilson on their new Christmas track, “Under the Christmas Tree.” Though if their Bandcamp tags are to believed, they looked to much lesser bands for inspiration, such as N’Sync and Smash Mouth. I’ll leave it to you to decide…

Bottom Line: Brian Wilson would be proud. Lets support the so that they keep this lovely tradition going. 4.3/5

LISTEN

Posted on

Sweet Tempest “Snow” (2014)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

So, someday when Copenhagen’s Sweet Tempest officially put out their record… I will be the first in line to buy it. This is the kind of stuff that makes me love Christmas digging – when you find a band that you can love all year long. While I could talk about how much I love “Bones,” or “My Boulder,” the song in question here is “Snow.” I don’t know if I can sufficiently say how much I love this song. All I needed to hear is the intro to know I wanted it to be a centerpiece of my mix. That banjo (thats what it sounds like to me) as it meets the drums… damn. Just listen. I have high hopes for the next few months, as the band seem to look to winter for inspiration… and I could use another beautiful Sweet Tempest song for 2015’s mix.

Bottom Line: While not a Christmas song, it fits my guidelines with its winter imagery. And had it not fit, I would have rewritten my rules. No download… but they were extremely kind to me. 5/5

LISTEN

Posted on

Parker Lewis “Merry Christmas” (2014)

Parker Lewis "Merry Christmas"

Self Released
Buy: Free!

Parker Lewis (Emil Johansson) is one of my favorite Swedish Christmas music songsmiths. In fact, it was the Christmas tunes that got me in the door far enough to buy his latest record, and that’s all in Swedish (which I don’t speak – and its wonderful). Now, Emil has recorded a number of Christmas originals and covers in the past, so when he posted that he was sending out 10 CDr to a lucky few who responded to a FB post the other day, I got crazy excited and e-mailed immediately, asking if it might be Christmas songs. While it turned out that I was not one of the ten lucky recipients, he did not seem to suggest anything about a Christmas song in his response to me. Little did I know he had a Christmas song in his back pocket. “Merry Christmas” is a melancholy little song. The first line sets the tone. “I’m in love with you / even though you don’t call me anymore.” Don’t despair, while the melancholy remains, some wonderful lines sneak into this song that clocks in at barely over 2:00. For example, I really like the line “and I wished for impossible things each Christmas / none of which come true / So this year, baby / I wish for you.” Check it out for yourself, and especially check out his older Christmas songs if you haven’t already. I’ve included the ones I could find on Soundcloud in the box below, but there’s a cover of “Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis” and “All Alone on Christmas” out there too.

Bottom Line: Great melancholy indiepop Christmas if that’s your groove. Now with a download!! 4.1/5

LISTEN

Posted on

Cleaners from Venus “Glammy Little Christmas” (2014)

Cleaners from Venus "Glammy Little Christmas"

Soft Bodies
Buy: Bandcamp

So, unfortunately, this post is going to be pretty minimal. I’m still fuming about it from a couple days ago… when WordPress somehow ate it. My apologies to the Cleaners from Venus.

The Cleaners from Venus are a legendary (to some), underground, proto-indie rock band, who had a slew of reissues come out in the past few years by Captured Tracks & Burger Records (amongst others I believe). Indeed, with such a long recording history, there has to be some Christmas tunes in their past, yes? Indeed sir, the wonderful “Christmas in Suburbia” is on Number Thirteen. Now, you can add one more to the list, “Glammy Little Christmas.” The lyrics suggest a recapturing of one’s youth, heading out for a glam Christmas. “There’s a cold wind in the doorway / and the weather’s more like Norway / and my platform heels are skidding underneath. / But there’s glitter on the paving / and your granddad’s come out raving / like he used to do in 1973.” That’s just the first bit, but you get the gist. Pair this what Glam Chops’ “Baby Jesus was the First Glam Rocker” and you’ve got a new mix theme going…

Martin Newell & Co. have a new record coming out in 2015 as well, on their favorite format of course (cassette!). So be on the look out for that at Burger Records, and elsewhere I’d imagine.

Bottom Line: Great song by an underground legend. How about a few more… hint hint. 3.9/5

LISTEN


 

Posted on

Les Bicyclettes de Belsize – The Advent Calendar (Countdown to Christmas) (2014)

Les Bicyclettes de Belsize "The Advent Calendar"

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

London’s Les Bicyclettes de Belsize have released a curious little single, where they take two different approaches to the same song. The first version, “The Advent Calendar (Countdown to Christmas),” has a more upbeat feel, and the sound is fuller than the more sparsely arranged “The Advent Calendar (by candlelight).” The track itself is quite lovely – and I really like the bits of A Christmas Carol that they intersperse into the song. While some of the production bells and whistles are missing from “by candlelight,” it also remains quite nice – Your choice of which track to include would certainly be based on the tone you wish to set.

Bottom Line: An excellent indiepop Christmas original, in two flavors! 4.4/5

LISTEN

Posted on

Tramgirl with Les Bicyclettes de Belsize “An Eighties Christmas Song” (2014)

Tramgirl Christmas

Self Released
Buy: Stream

So, Fireflies retweeted this intriguing link. The artist is Tramgirl, (aka Edine), who is part of the Hong Kong indiepop duo The Marshmallow Kisses. The Tramgirl project “creates bedroom karaoke pop with worldwide musicians,” and in this instance, the song is with Charlie Darling of Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (who also has a seasonal release this year… more to come on that). Its a classic indiepop Christmas song – sugary sweet music with a dash of longing. If this is a vibe you like, then this is is certainly a highlight of the holiday-indiepop genre.

“count the days and the hours and the minutes till sleep time
climb the stairs say your prayers every boy and girl goodnight
don’t be scared show no fear when you turn off the light now
when you wake no escape from your dreams I’ll be there
I will be there”

Bottom Line: A fine example of indiepop Christmas done well. No download though! 3.9/5

LISTEN