Category: Singles/Tracks

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Strayfolk “Christmas Day” (2008)

strayfolk

Self-Released
Buy: Bandcamp

How about some wonderful Americana from Sweden for your Saturday morning? Strayfolk came into my radar back in 2008, courtesy of Swedesplease, and their “Christmas Day” immediately became part of my regular rotation. Long existing as an mp3 floating out in the ether of the internet, it now has a home on Bandcamp. Why would you go to Bandcamp, rather than just popping over to their website? Well, because you can now get a FLAC version, as well as show your appreciation for such a great song with a buck. Christmas Underground is all about supporting the artists that make our season happen.

Bottom Line: You and your country band are going to want to cover this song, so go buy it and start practicing. 5/5

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Gordon Downie “Christmastime in Toronto (Alt. Version)” (2003)

Comes with a Smile: Protect Our Secret Handshake

Comes with a Smile
Buy: Discogs

Gordon Downie is best known as the lead singer for the Tragically Hip – so while you may not know him, that name likely rings a bell. This is one of my ultimate finds… because this version of “Christmastime in Toronto” lives in only one place and is not available digitally. Comes with a Smile was a magazine + CD that specifically curated tracks unavailable anywhere else. It was a wealth of interesting bands, alternate takes, one-off covers, and the world is lessened with its folding in 2006. If you are so inclined to pick up Magazine #13 (with comes with CD #9, Protect Our Secret Handshake), you will be treated to this alternate version, which in my estimation, is vastly superior to the version that made it onto the record (the alternate version ROCKS the F* OUT). I always hesitate to give away free music when it wasn’t given away free to begin with, so I will have to defer to your own personal motivation… if you want it, you gotta get it yourself. I am not heartless though – if you want to hear it, head over to my mix from 2006, Fold Your Hands Santa, You Walk Like an Elf, and wait for track #9.

Bottom Line: Dig and you shall find a winner. 5/5

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The Christmas Club “Child’s Christmas In Wales” (2013)

Christmas Club 2013

Self-Released
Buy: Free!

The Christmas Club is back for another year! Sneaking up on me in my Soundcloud feed, The Christmas Club’s most recent release for 2013 (they have already done an… interesting… version of Fairytale of New York) is a cover of Dylan Thomas & John Cale’s “Child’s Christmas in Whales.” The result is an excellent version of a wonderful song. While I may still be partial to the Superchunk version, The Christmas Club have found that grittiness that this song needs to really seal the deal. I’ll be looking forward to whatever else they have instore for us this holiday season. They will likely be setting up a donation for City Harvest again, so if you like it and download it, be sure to check back to see how you can help.

Bottom Line: A well-produced, excellent cover of a wonderful song. 4/4

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The Wave Pictures “I Love You Like a Madman” (2008)

Wave Pictures - Instant Coffee Baby

Moshi Moshi / Little Teddy
Buy: Discogs (CD/LP) | Bandcamp

Every so often, I strike gold and pull out a double, as in I love the Christmas song and also find that I love the band. The Wave Pictures are indeed one of those true finds, that hooks me in the Xmas and reels me in for the rest of their catalog. Their 2008 release, Instant Coffee Baby, contains “I Love You Like a Madman,” one of the most interesting and enjoyable Christmas songs I have ever experienced. Their style is as if Jonathan Richman had listened to a good bit of Dexys Midnight Runners while reading Raymond Carver stories (I am stretching here… I can’t find the perfect combo). The chorus begins with “The air in here is dead / But we’re not finished yet / Throw the back door open / Let me see your breath.” It’s this kind of simple, visceral visual that I find in Evan Dando at his best and David Berman at his most poignant, and is indeed, a large part of why I love music.

Bottom Line: Like a weird short story that you can’t help but see yourself in. 5/5

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Haze “The River” (2013)

Haze

Self-Released
Buy: Bandcamp

I don’t consider this a blog that is there to inform you of HOT NEW MUSIC. The goal of Christmas Underground is more to ferret out those hidden gems that might have passed you by, or give an alternate take on a record that others have likely loved… not necessarily posting new stuff coming out with any real voracity.

However, I did come across a rather intriuging cover of Joni Mitchell’s “River” that I thought I might share. Yes, yet another cover of “River.” However, I think Haze does a pretty great job with this song. Stripped down, with layered backing vocals that for a split second reminded me of Glasser, she takes “River” and with slight changes, does appear to make it her own. While the song normally bores me, she does little things to keep me engaged.

Bottom Line: While I’m not a huge fan of the song to begin with, Haze does it justice with a excellent arrangement. 4/5

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Spottiswoode and His Enemies “Chelsea Boys” (2008)

Spottiswoode and His Enemies - Salvation

Self-Released
Buy: Bandcamp | iTunes

This song is amazing. I’m going to step back and let Spottiswoode explain it though:

“My recollection is that i wrote the opening two melodic lines with the clear intention of composing a Christmas carol (only realizing later that the melody was, of course, similar to “Hark The Herald”). and then the words for the first two lines came out:

Boys in Chelsea holding hands
Whistle as they watch us dance.

“Had I intended to write a gay carol? i don’t remember. My guess is that after mouthing those two lines my curiosity was piqued and I wanted to see where the song would go. i understand that many people may dismiss the tune as a novelty song or just think that’s it’s a little clever and twisted ditty, but to me it’s an achingly romantic song. it’s a love song. it’s not just a love song to the girl the singer is addressing who is about to share a dance with some leather-clad homosexuals in the snow. it’s a love song to gay New York and thereby, in Christmas spirit, to human brotherhood.”

Listen to this song. Its beautiful.

Bottom Line: One of my favorite finds, ever. 5/5

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Jesse Malin “Fairytale of New York” (2008)

One Little Indian
Buy: Discogs (CD) | Bandcamp

Jesse Malin has been on my radar since his first solo record, The Fine Art of Self Destruction (which also has a Christmas tune…). Yes, I missed his days in D Generation, but I am not Superman, and I give myself a pass. In 2008, Jesse put out a cover record, and I dutifully picked it up. To my delight, track 12 became one of my favorite covers of “Fairytale of New York” that I’ve ever heard. (Though, it does include the word.) Jesse Malin and Bree Sharp have a grittiness to their version that I love about the original, but Malin’s distinctive voice and phrasing really life to this version. Again, this is one of Jesse’s multiple Christmas tunes (which I may cover later), so if you are intrigued, certainly do a bit more digging.

EDIT: Can also be found on Mercury Retrograde.

Bottom Line: Makes it his own, without washing the bits of grit and grime from the original. Loses points only because that .2 goes to the original. 4.8/5

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Jens Lekman “I Don’t Know What to Do With This Information” (2011)

Jens Lekman

Self-Released
Buy: Stream

Its been a whopping week 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

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Super Furry Animals “The Gift that Keeps Giving” (2007)

Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus

Rough Trade
Buy: Discogs (CD/LP) | 7Digital FLAC/MP3 | iTunes

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

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Fireflies “Xmas Song” (2007)

Fireflies

Music is My Girlfriend
Buy: Bandcamp | iTunes | CD (Discogs)

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.

Bottom Line: Pure indiepop gold. 5/5

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