Category: Singles/Tracks

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Cocktails “The Most Wonderful Time (For a Beer)” (2012)

Cocktails - The Most Wonderful Time (For a Beer)

Father/Daughter Records
Buy: Bandcamp

I apologize for the language; I’m apparently quite fond of profanity in 2015.

San Francisco’s Cocktails are the perfect follow-up to that Pupppy track – they are both on the same label, Father/Daughter Records, and they both recorded drunk Christmas tunes. Shit really appears to be hitting the fan – girl is gone, transmission is busted, life has kicked them in the nuts. “I don’t hear the children singing / I don’t hear the sleigh bells ringing / Its the most wonderful time / Its the most wonderful time / for a beer.” The contrast of the shit situation with the upbeat, happy chorus makes for a great, interesting song from what could easily have been a throwaway with a good title.

Of note, Cocktails also appear on the Bay Bridged 2014 Holiday Compilation, previously talked about on the always-influential Stubby’s House of Christmas. Check it out – its another great power-pop Christmas song for your earholes.

Bottom Line: Clocking in at 2:07, shotgun this beer onto your mix if you want to pick up the pace. Maybe see them live with Wild Nothing on May 22nd too! 4.5/5

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Pupppy “Puking (Merry Christmas)” (2015)

Pupppy Christmas

Father/Daughter Records
Buy: Cassette | Bandcamp

I love a grimy Christmas as much as the next guy, and Pupppy’s “Puking (Merry Christmas)” is as grimy as it gets. The smell of New York permeates this song – as Pupppy’s brand of “twister folk jangle pop” spins a tale of a drunken train ride home on Christmas eve.

“Twisting thought and bending time, / your soul weeps inside your mind / as you puke up all of that red wine / in the morning time. / But there you stand on both legs / feel the snow your head.”

It begins with an alt.country twang, then moves towards the dirtier qualities (no synths, no beats, no shimmery guitars) of indie rock as it progresses. The song would certainly help keep your Christmas mix from being too family friendly, and I consider that a good thing.

Bottom Line: I love a slightly fucked up Christmas song, and Pupppy fucks some shit up quite well. 4.5/5

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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