Category: Singles/Tracks

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Slow Salvation “The Ghost of Last Christmas” (2024)

Velvet Blue Music
Buy: Bandcamp

I sure hope someone is out there compiling an incredible dream pop/shoegaze Christmas record… because here is another! New Jersey’s Slow Salvation are bringing their effects pedals to Christmas with the wonderful “The Ghost of Last Christmas.” This genre is often mainly a vibe, with the walls of buzzing guitars and airy vocals creating an atmosphere for the lyrics to live in, though Slow Salvation has even brought some lovely, simple lyrics to the table: The gifts I bring / Are filled with memories / That we sing / Take Me Home.” Just a gorgeous song.

Bottom Line: Shoegaze Christmas is gonna be a thing, and this song is a highlight.

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Kestrels “Last Christmas” (2024)

Darla
Buy: Darla (MP3/FLAC) | Bandcamp

I am thoroughly sick of most popular Christmas songs. Somehow… “Last Christmas” is not in that category. It is likely my love of George Michael that keeps me from going full Grinch. However, most versions bore me to death – the same old same old. Thankfully, Halifax’s Kestrels have found a fuzzy, droning bassline that has given me permission to enjoy this song once again.

Bottom Line: Kestrels deliver a quick and easy thumbs up from a grumbly Christmas blogger.

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EDIT: Looks like this isn’t the first run with “Last Christmas!” Here is Kestrels member Chad Peck from 8 years ago 🙂

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Cheyenne Marrs “Santa’s Lament” (2023)

Red Curtain Records
Buy: Darla (MP3/FLAC)

So, Thanksgiving has me traveling this year, and thus, I’m a bit more distracted than I normally am at this crucial moment in the Christmas music release schedule. I’ll do my best to drop a post here and there when I can… but hey, some years are going to be more fruitful than others I suppose.

Memphis’ Cheyenne Marrs dropped a wonderful Christmas original last year that I missed. This is indeed a trend. I’m looking forward to all my posts next year about the songs I missed this year! “Santa’s Lament” is not the Father Guido Sarducci song from 1995 – so while the content is a bit humorous, it is not Dr. Demento-humorous. I loved the lyrics, – Santa busting his ass for everyone, straining his back, not getting any cookies – thought it is the music that hooked me. The percussion that begins the song propels the song along until “the work is done” and the horns begin to creep in for the big ending. It is a fun one. I do hope you enjoy it.

Bottom Line: Give thanks to folks who make the music you love, and check out Cheyenne’s 2023 debut full-length “Everybody Wants to Go Home.”

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Elliot Maginot “Waiting on Christmas” (2024)

Audiogram
Buy: Bandcamp

I hope you all aren’t afraid of some grand, sincere, emotion in your Christmas songs. Montreal’s Elliot Maginot has returned with his annual tune (often featured on CU!), and it raises the drama of what has already been a pretty grandiose Christmas catalog. “Waiting on Christmas” begins with Elliot nearly in a whisper, and as the emotion grows, so do the strings. The centerpiece of the song is the lovely spoken word in the refrain provided by Michael Taylor Hick, whose lines are initially echoed by Elliot in the background, “I will lay down my head / I will forgive my body / shedding my pain as I go / I will show only love to they neighbor / I’ll let in everyone that I know / I’ve been waiting on Christmas / just to let it snow down on me.”

I feel that. Somehow I’ve got this little part of me that thinks this Christmas will fill us with the strength we need to get through the uncertain year we have awaiting us. This song captures that, with the hope that everyone accesses that well of shared humanity.

Bottom Line: Elliot Maginot is a truly unique voice. Listen with an open mind.

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Pinemoon “Christmas Together” (2022)

Pinhead Music
Buy: 7Digital (MP3/FLAC) | Apple Music | Amazon MP3

The swell of new releases is beginning… and here I find myself writing about a song from two years ago. I stumbled upon Copenhagen’s Pinemoon, and they just hit me right. 2022’s “Christmas Together” is a swooning, shoegazing trip that reset my mood last night. Searching for Christmas music is digging in the digital mines and more often than not, feeling hopeless and frustrated. Merry Christmas! So when you stumble upon something like “Christmas Together,” it calms your nerves and lets you fall asleep, ready to dig another day.

Bottom Line: This is a shoegaze Christmas classic.

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There is a piano version too!

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Pleasure Systems “Merry Christmas” (2024)

Primordial Void
Buy: Bandcamp

Of all places… The Fader (not known for breaking new Christmas music) tipped me off to this excellent new Christmas tune by Pleasure Systems (aka Clarke Sondermann). Well, certainly glad I caught it, as “Merry Christmas” is one of the strongest bedroom pop tracks of the year to date. Laid back, with lyrical and sonic twists that keep you engaged throughout, Clarke’s relaxed speak-singing style (as well as the lyrical approach) gave me some real Soltero vibes (who also have Christmas songs… that I might have to write about as well). (Edit: How did I not hear a Postal Service comparison before! Totally!) The song is warm, with fluttering accents popping in and out of the arrangement. There is a lot here in less than three minutes. Leave them wanting more, and I do.

Reading a bit about the motivation behind the song, I felt this rang true for many of the Christmas-ish songs I tend to feature on Christmas Underground. Clarke states “Merry Christmas” is, “A meditation on holidays as marking points in time… not quite Christmas music, instead utilizing familiar winter imagery as a backdrop for self-reflection on cyclical relationships and past versions of oneself.”

Christmas really does have a power, and whether you are a believer or not, the nostalgia, the sentimentality, or simply the flagpole it plants at the end of every year is something that many of us grapple with, whether we are aware of it or not. There is a heightening to everything… fertile ground for good art if you can find your way inside the artifice. I think Pleasure Systems found themselves a key.

A quick final note. For those who like holiday vinyl, there’s a 7-inch that is limited to 100 copies. Feel free to send me one if you are feeling generous!

Bottom Line: My son really started grooving on it last night, and was happy to have me play it over and over… so that is a rather large vote for this being mixworthy. He is really going to have a weird concept of classic Christmas music when he’s my age 🙂

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Arny Margret “Happy New Year” (2024)

One Little Independent Records
Buy: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Amazon MP3 | Amazon.uk MP3 | Amazon.de MP3

I’ve had my eye on this one for a while. After coming across Icelandic singer/songwriter Arny Margret through her wonderful 2022 holiday duet with Asgeir, “Part of Me,” she was fully on my radar. So when I got the Bandcamp notification for a new record, I am going to check it out. I Miss You, I Do comes out in March, so you can imagine my distress when I saw the closer was called “Happy New Year,” and it wasn’t the first preview track for the record. I simply assumed that I was going to have to circle back in the spring and stash a track for next year. But no! Arny dropped a second preview track with plenty of time for Christmas mix consideration. “Happy New Year” has that blanket of melancholy that, if you read this blog, you know I’m a sucker for. However… the turn at the end is so satisfying and hopeful, as the orchestration expands and Arny’s voice raises – that I could see this track finishing off a mix beautifully.

Dang. I want this whole record pretty bad.

Bottom Line: I’m not sure if I’m happy for a new year, but I’m certainly happy for this song.

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King Hannah “Blue Christmas” (2024)

City Slang
Buy: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Amazon MP3 | Amazon.uk MP3 | Amazon.de MP3

I do not get excited for covers of “Blue Christmas.” I have heard a million versions… and rarely do I enjoy them. Liverpool duo King Hannah has somehow done it. Simply said, their voices sell it for me… how well they meld, how nicely they part, the warmth of their tone. Take away one of them from the mix, and the song is just another song. Definitely check out their non-seasonal music, which is damn good and might just distract you from working on your Christmas mix.

Dammit. Back to work.

Bottom Line: One of the nicest versions of a boring song I’ve heard in a long time. That sounds like a backhanded compliment, but truly, this is a great version… you’re just talking to someone who has heard this song too many times 🙂

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Cheetah Cheetah Bison “A Little More Christmas” & “December” (2020)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp | Amazon MP3 | 7Digital MP3 | Apple Music

A random song in my email. A casual click on a link. VIRUS! EXPLOSION! Wait… that didn’t happen – just wanted to add to the drama. My head bobs, my feet tap… I love this song. Who the fuck is this guy/band/mystery? Well, it only took me a year to properly follow up and figure this shit out. Cheetah Cheetah Bison happens to be Andrew Kerr, who can also be found in the NYC post-punk band Grassfight, as well as his country project Rabbit Montgomery. Grassfight released a couple EPs in the 2010’s and their full-length LP, Vampires, in 2023 (though it was recorded 10 years prior). As for the Cheetah Cheetah Bison moniker, this is pandemic Andrew. In a fantastic, stream-of-consciousness response to my random questions, Andrew explains, “Early into the pandemic in 2020, I realized I was going to have some real time off at home, so I dusted everything off and decided I was going to get into the world of solo stuff and see what happened. I’m very blessed to be able to play most of the key instruments, so I said hey why not.” Why not indeed. “A Little More Christmas” is an affirmation, singing out from the depths of the pandemic. Along with the season synths of “December,” Andrew was feeling the spirit in 2020: “It just felt right releasing some sort of positive project, given everyone’s mood about the possible end of the world.” I feel it, man. I wish I had heard these then… those were dark times.

For some reason “A Litte More Christmas,” gives me My Morning Jacket vibes – hell, they should cover this! Make Andrew some money! I like to imagine these big bands (or more likely, their managers or interns) mining this blog for Christmas album material. Hell, I’m happy to take on a consulting fee! Ha!

Bottom Line: You never know where you’ll find wonderful Christmas songs. The world is a wonderful place. Look… I’m even feeling optimistic now. Crazy shit.

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UPCOMING: The Cords “Favorite Time” (12/06/2024)

Slumberland/Heavenly Creatures
Buy: Bandcamp (Digital/Flexi)

I’ve previously written about how much I look to Scotland (this was just a few posts ago!) for excellent Christmas tunes. The Cords are an excellent indiepop duo from Greenock, Scotland, and this upcoming track has a high probability of being excellent. Normally I might wait to review the track before sharing it here – but as there are flexis available now – and likely not for much longer – and I felt I should let you all know ASAP. So, check out The Cords, decide if they are your jam, and buy it.

Hat tip to @noloveforned for the heads up on this one.

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Here’s a non-holiday release to check out the band.