Category: Singles/Tracks

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Faye and The Scrooges “Fancy Postman” (2012) and “Terrible Presents” (2011)

Faye and the Scrooges

Self-Released
Buy: Stream

Two excellent little songs from the rather mysterious Faye and The Scrooges have come across my Soundcloud searches of late. Before I inquired, very little could be found about them. Google searches led to nothing. I thought, perhaps, there was an odd Aluna George connection, since that is the only band they followed. They had 2 songs up, and by all measures, were quite obscure with two very modest play counts (as of now, 80/768). I took a moment and asked them who they heck they were, and learned that this is the product of a group of friends who get together and write/record a Christmas song with just enough time to give them to friends at the pub on Christmas eve. Judging by the production value, this group of friends knows their way around a recording – they sound great. Both songs are silly, but not too silly as to be annoying. They are simply quite clever, and extremely enjoyable. Jump on this bandwagon and add to their 4 followers, and while you’re at it, follow Pluto Rise on Facebook and Soundcloud – because two of the members of this trio have started a band, and its bound to be pretty damn good.

Bottom Line: Faye and The Scrooges have my vote. They are one year away from writing an indie classic. Perhaps set up a Bandcamp to allow FLAC downloads? 4/5

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Lisa Bouvier – Live From Hendon Cathedral (2011)

Lisa Bouvier

Cath ‘N’ Dad Records
Buy: Bandcamp

Lisa Bouvier is presently the bassist in the excellent indiepop band The Proctors, but that does not stop her from releasing her own solo material. This simple, two track Christmas single, is released on Cath ‘N’ Dad Records, which allows you to name your own price on all their releases. The catch? All the proceeds go to the charity of the band’s own choosing. Lisa chose Popkollo, a Swedish (yes, she is Swedish – I’m such a sucker for the Swedes) charity best described by Lisa:

Popkollo started as a music summer camp for girls, and is now a nationwide collaboration of incredible female musicians who support girls all over Sweden in their musical endeavours.

As for the songs, they are short, sweet, and performed beautifully. Not quite sure they are the kind of vibe that I look for in my Christmas mix, but certainly would fit the bill for some of you. To the best of my knowledge, “Christmas Rain” appears to be Lisa’s own song. There are other songs with the same title, but not a match when I compared the lyrics. It is an excellent song, and the production value is of equal quality. The second and final song is a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “River.” Covered by a million other singers, Lisa’s version does nothing to rewrite the script. However, she does it quite nicely.

Bottom Line: Lisa Bouvier’s Christmas single is short, sweet, well performed and produced, and all the proceeds go to charity. I think you’ll be quite pleased with your purchase. 4.3/5

LISTEN

 

And for good measure, be sure to check out The Proctors, the band Lisa is presently touring the world with.

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Peaks “Xmas Song” (2012)

Peaks "Love"

Sober & Gentle
Buy: RoW (as in… not available in the US, barely available to the world)

Did you enjoy Cocoon? Because if you did, you may like Peaks. Why? Because its one half of Cocoon (Morgane Imbeaud) singing a song that has nearly the same name! Officially released on their debut mini-album, Love, this song was also promoted as a Christmas gift from Peaks last year. I do not believe it was ever available for free download though…

As you can imagine, the music is quite lovely. It is unavoidable for a band associated with Morgane Imeaud. Now lets take a stab at the lyrics… if you guessed dark, you guessed right! The song finds the lead character lamenting how wonderful it would be if they were still in love and stuck inside together, while crying that her love is not there and not coming back again. So bring that mix back down to earth with this fuzzy little Christmas dirge.

Bottom Line: You guessed it. I’m a fan. Loses points because of the extreme lengths you may have to go through to actually purchase this song. Sober & Gentle will not ship to the US, and I can’t find it on Amazon/iTunes. 4.2/5

LISTEN:

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Cocoon “Christmas Song” (2007)

Cocoon All My Friends

Sober & Gentle
Buy:  iTunes | 7Digital MP3 | RoW

Santa Clause won’t come tonight.
He is never late.
The reindeer may have been shot in the skies of the USA.

For a long time I have been told lies.
Am I dumb?
Am I blind?
I am feeling so fine.
Oh so fine.

Now. If that is the kind of Christmas song you can get behind, then venture forth good sir, because I love this gloomy little song. The French duo Cocoon released this acoustic number on their suggestively dark All My Friends Died in a Plane Crash in 2007. The music is cheery, like you might find in an adorable TV commercial about a new eco-friendly car… then you listen to the lyrics and BOOM! Love it.

Bottom Line: A great song for those who don’t want Christmas to be all candy-canes and gumdrops. 5/5

LISTEN

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UytNeEa9G7s] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oQCoFy3LQA]
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Oh Sweet Music! “(Fly Away For) Christmas” (2005)

Oh Sweet Music

Canarie Records/Self-Released?
Buy: Good Luck!

Many moons ago, Swedesplease hipped me to this wonderful, odd little Christmas tune. The anti-christmas lyrics, the rough-around-the-edges vocals, the sparse guitar arrangement and beautiful horn interplay have placed this track solidly in my own personal “classics” collection. I now find myself wanting to learn more about the band in question, Oh Sweet Music. So, after some basic research, which takes some serious digging, I have come up with a few items I believe to be (relatively) true. First, the band is fronted by a man of the name of Magnus Nordström. This turns out to be quite a popular name in Sweden, and has thwarted my attempts to find him on Facebook. Secondly, he was also in a band called Piotor. Each of his bands appear to only have MySpace pages, and they haven’t been attended to in years. Thirdly, he recorded on Canarie Records in Sweden, and appeared on a Series Two Records compilation in the US. Canarie Records appears to be long-gone, and Series Two stopped releasing records in 2010. What I would give for an e-mail address, simply to thank him for the songs (I’ve found about four Oh Sweet Music tunes still available around the net), and perhaps suggest a Bandcamp page where his music can live on with high fidelity downloads and a few bucks in his pocket.

So, I throw out in to the ether, Magnus Nordström, please create a Bandcamp page for your old recordings. I will buy them.

Also, it appears that everyone thinks this song is called “Oh Sweet Christmas,” rather than “(Fly Away For) Christmas,” as it was originally titled (or so I assume… based that it makes sense from the lyrics, and is titled such in the earliest instance of the song being posted.)

Download the song here – I found a link that was still live!

Bottom Line: An interesting original with a rough edge, sung by Swedes who, try as they might to fight it, have quite an ear for pop music. 5/5

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Kite Club “Royal Gums” (2010)

Speak’N’Spell
Buy: Stream | Download (Free!)

Melbourne’s Kite Club first came to my attention via their recent profile on The Line of Best Fit (a wonderful music blog if you haven’t already read it). So, I headed over to their Soundcloud page, pressed play, and began to do some work. While listening to their 2010 EP Esoterica, I heard jingle bells. “Royal Gums” is an oddball of a Christmas song… one that I would really love to know all the lyrics to. If I am not crazy, it begins as such: “Gorgonzola on Rye, made the Christians cry.” I really want to know these lyrics. This track sounds like it would be a great compliment to a Parenthetical Girls’ Christmas release… so if you like that vibe, you’ll like this one too. I’m about 95% sold that it will be on 2013’s mix. Oh, and it’s free for download on their Soundcloud page!

Bottom Line: Really interesting, could claw back that .5 to be a classic… just give it time. 4.5/5

LISTEN

https://soundcloud.com/kiteclub/royal-gums
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The Love Language “White Christmas,” “Gsus,” “Christmas in Toyland” (2008-2011)

The Love Language

Bladen County Records/Merge Records/Self-Released
Buy: Bandcamp! (well, for 2 of them)

The Love Language make some fine indie rock in Raleigh, NC… and in the proud tradition of their fellow Raleigh-ites, The Rosebuds, have some incredible Christmas tunes.

In 2008, the Love Language released “White Christmas” on a (now long-lost) download-only comp put out by Bladen County Records. However, this is not your parents’ “White Christmas.” You can’t get much darker than “Santa bring my baby to me / I’m gonna hang myself from a Christmas Tree / But all the ones that I’ve bought / They’re only six feet tall.” So… be prepared… and also be ready for some fantastic music. This song sounds amazing. — EDIT: This was also released as “White Christmas/Black Fetus” by the Light Language, a meeting of the Love Language and the Light Pines! I don’t know how I just discovered this link!!

2010 saw the Love Language move on from Bladen County Records, and head for the bright lights of indie-rock powerhouse Merge. It also marks the first year of (what I really hope is) a yearly tradition of last-minute Christmas songs released to the Raleigh-centric (duh) blog NewRaleigh.com. “Gsus” is a fantastic groove, one that made its way onto my 2011 mix and remains a personal favorite. It was recorded by Stu and BJ, with voicemails from the band members who were out of town – which sounds odd, but totally works. YOU NEED THIS.

The Love Language released “Christmas in Toyland” to NewRaleigh.com last year… also in the nick of time (Dec. 23). Another great song… a bit of a slow-burner, but very well worth it. Check it out.

My fingers are crossed… and I’ve been checking The Love Language’s FB and NewRaleigh.com for the past few days, hoping for another late Christmas gift from one of the great composers of indie rock Christmas classics.

Bottom Line: Free downloads of fantastic original songs. 5/5 

LISTEN

Download 2011’s “Christmas in Toyland”

 

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Jonti “Christmas Worm” (2012)

Stones Throw vs. Serato 2

Stones Throw
Buy: LP | Bandcamp

I am officially obsessed. This is 100% guaranteed to be on my mix next year. Jonti’s “Christmas Worm” appears on Stones Throw’s new Stones Throw vs. Serato II LP, and while I really don’t quite have a clue what the Serato II tone accomplishes, the b-sides are a compilation of Stones Throw artists… including this fantastic gem. I am considering the $40 simply to get a high bitrate version of this song. Fight it Jim, fight it.

Bottom Line: Hot damn! 5/5 (for the track… not a review of the actual album… which is crazy $$$)

EDIT: Looks like it was eventually released on a record!

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The Aislers Set “Cold Christmas” (2010/2020)

Suicide Squeeze
Buy: Bandcamp

I wanted a quick post today, just to keep things rolling. So, I thought I’d dip my toes into the generally excellent back catalogue of Christmas tunes that The Aislers Set have amassed. Their most recent xmas release was 2010’s “Cold Christmas,” released too late for most to enjoy during that year. However, if you were lucky enough to come across it in early 2011, then you are in your second season of grooving to this indie-pop classic. “Cold Christmas” is good enough to be on anybody’s Christmas mix – I only wish that they would release it properly… on a site such as Bandcamp, so that I might have a FLAC. Hear me Aislers Set? I will pay for this… my $1+ is at the ready.

EDIT: They have taken my $1.29, as the song is NOW ON BANDCAMP (8 years after I wrote this review!)

Bottom Line: $1.29 is a bargain for FANTASTIC indiepop! 5/5

LISTEN

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Kitty Kitten Kristmas Update

Hey folks – I’ve updated my review of Kitty Kitten Kristmas – the Stars in Coma have re-recorded the standout “The Frozen Spectacle” for their new record, and I’ve posted it there. An added bonus… they have it available for free on their Soundcloud!

DOUBLE BONUS: There is a new Christmas tune from the whole Kingem Records crew – “RELEVANT Christmas 2012” (Stars In Coma, Tiny Tide, A Nice Person). Its a solid tune… check it out.