Category: Vinyl

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Snowed In (A Merge Records Holiday Album) (2026)

A snowy path surrounded by snow covered trees on each side.

Merge Records
Buy: Merge | Bandcamp

Merge Claus strikes again! They’ve been generous with us in the past, releasing one of the strongest compilations of recent memory, You Wish, back in 2019. They’re back and have already blessed us with that amazing Superchunk EP, and now a full compilation LP, Snowed In.

There is a little for everyone here – originals, covers, and classics sprinkled throughout the album. Snowed In succeeds where others often fail, serving each category beautifully and crafting a great listen from start to finish. This album is all killer, no filler.

I can’t decide whether writing a great new Christmas song is easier or harder than performing a classic that brings the baggage of years and many, many versions. I suspect the latter may indeed be tougher, so I do appreciate when someone can keep me engaged. The lead track, Charlotte Cornfield’s version of “Jingle Bells,” has enough warmth in its shuffle to make me smile, and sets a lovely tone to begin the album. Great start.

The originals are always the most exciting, and there are some stellar new additions on this record. Case Oats jumped out immediately with the propulsive “Peace on Earth,” and those (trombone?) flourishes are unexpected and truly fantastic.

Mike Krol adds another new Christmas song to pair with his stellar 2019 track, “Won’t Be Alone Tonight,” and oh boy, “How Could It Be Christmas?” does not disappoint. These two songs could be paired as one of the most indispensable indie rock Christmas 7-inch singles of all time.

There are more great original songs on here – another version of Superchunk’s fantastic “Shortest Day of the Year,” as well as a new Christmas song by The New Pornographers. If I am not mistaken, the first Christmas song by The New Pornographers since their 2007 The Spirit of Giving EP. Welsh indie rock band The Tubs also rock out with their “I Am an Elf,” giving us all the closest thing we’ll ever get to a Joanna Gruesome Christmas song (2012’s “Holiday Armadillo” doesn’t count).

There are some inspired covers here as well, such as Telekinesis’ “Christmas in Suburbia,” originally by indie legends The Cleaners from Venus. My hot take? This is better than the original, and better than any version I’ve ever heard. Come at me, Martin Newell-heads!

There is much more to be had on this record, with more great covers and classics all worth your time. I’m really enjoying this record, and could see 2-3 songs being on this year’s mix. This is a must-buy, so go buy it already! You have no choice! The spirit of alternative Christmas compells you!

Bottom Line: An indie rock holiday compilation that is enjoyable all the way through? Unheard of! Or is it… ? Go buy this record!

Edit: I had this post all ready to add single tracks where appropriate, and they turned off the preview. I’m sure all the songs will be there Friday… but for now, you’ll have to be enticed by my terrible descriptions!

LISTEN

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UPCOMING: Snowflake Christmas Singles Club 2026 (12/11/2026)

Snowflakes Christmas Singles
Buy: Snowflakes | Bandcamp

There are a few of us Christmas music bloggers (check out my blogroll!) who enjoy hunting down interesting new (or old) Christmas tunes and sharing them with the billions of people on the planet who are hanging on every spelling error we make. Then, there are people like Robert over at the Snowflake Christmas Singles Club who actually release NEW Christmas music into the world. Robert loves Christmas music, specifically Christmas 7″ records (read his blog too!), and as they say, he puts his money where his mouth is, and we all benefit.

The premise of the Snowflake Christmas Singles Club (from here on, SCSC) is to have a brand-new Christmas/winter/holiday song on the A-side, with a cover chosen by the band on the flip. Pressed on snow-white vinyl and limited to 320 copies, these records are a special treat that has introduced me to many mix-worthy tunes in the past. How about we take a look at the 2026 crop of releases!

The first band that caught my eye is the jangle-pop band Josie from Denmark. With nods to C86 and twee pop, you know this badass motherfucker is going to be down to clown. Sorry… I get all aggro when I talk about my love of twee, jangly indiepop – as we all do, yes? My buddy Ned also loves and recommends their debut LP, A Life on Sweets Alone, and our Venn diagram of musical taste very much overlaps with indiepop wonderfulness. Their cover of the Orchids’ 1964 song “Mr. Scrooge” sounds incredibly intriguing: “Josie sticks fairly closely to the original arrangement and adds 1980s indie pop sensibilities to create the perfect fusion of 1960s girl pop and 1980s indie pop.” I want to listen to an entire record that sounds like that.

How about some MORE indiepop! Yes please! I’m only now being introduced to Amelia and The Housewifes, but hey – they’re pretty new! Their self-titled debut LP only came out in October, so I can’t beat myself up too much. What I have heard of that record has me terribly excited to hear their new song, “Snowgaze.” But now I have to wait until DECEMBER… but at least I can buy their S/T record for something to pass the time with!

Bristol’s Eva May sounds like a singer out of time. I just listened to her latest 7″, Where Does the Time Go (limited to 250 and still available on Full Time Hobby), and I’m feeling some serious Joni Mitchell vibes. Her holiday original, “Softly,” even promises to incorporate folk and avant-garde jazz elements… so that’s another data point for a Joni Mitchell comparison. Which, to be fair, is like comparing someone to Michael Jordan – flattering for sure, but what a weight of expectation. Let’s just take it as pure flattery, and wet your whistle on that other 7″ I was talking about while we wait.

Finally, we’ve got some reggae/ska/rocksteady in the final single, produced by UK-based producer, musician, music teacher, and studio and label owner Neil Anderson of Original Gravity Records, and featuring the vocals of Donnoya Drake on the original A-side, and Junior Dell on the Slade classic “Merry Christmas Everybody.” I do love a reggae reworking – one of my favorite 7″s I own is a bootleg reggae release called Caribbean Cooke Vol. 2, where they reworked Sam Cooke tunes into reggae bangers. Can’t wait to hear this one too!

Bottom Line: A fantastic lineup – perhaps my favorite one yet? The digital singles come out on Nov. 20, and preorders will ship before the end of November. The OFFICIAL release date for the vinyl is December 11th… so you mixers who are aiming for an early December release are in luck, cause you’ll have those digi singles early!

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Superchunk – Wintry Mix EP (2026)

A purple and white duotone photgraph of a dog in the snow.

Merge Records
Buy: Bandcamp | Merge Records

This makes so much sense. I don’t know why I haven’t been expecting something like this for years, as Mac McCaughan (solo) and Superchunk (his band) have been dropping holiday singles for years now. So, when I wake up to a note from my buddy Ned about a Superchunk 7″ dropping, it is this weird mix of excitement and “of course they did.”

So what do we have here?? The EP kicks off with a fantastic original, “Shortest Day of the Year,” that comes in 2 flavors – the digital “No Tinsel Mix” and the vinyl-only version, which Mac describes as “more rock / less explicitly ‘Christmas-y’ than the other version.” I’m looking forward to comparing the two.

Superchunk then Superchunks a wonderful selection of modern classics and more obscure selections. Beware – if you are participating in Whamageddon this year, skip the next track – as Superchunk becomes the first band to cover Wham’s classic “Last Christmas.” Don’t fact check me – hehe. The Superchunk paint job makes it a pretty fun version, and a welcome addition for sure.

There are a number of Magnetic Fields Christmasish songs to pick from, and Superchunk dug a bit deeper and picked “The Blizzard of ’78” and “Have You Seen It in the Snow,” both from 2017’s 50 Song Memoir. Curiously, this is one of the later Magnetic Fields records not released on Merge! “The Blizzard of ’78” is kicked into a fast gear, making it nearly unrecognizable from the original – which I always encourage! “Have You Seen It in the Snow” has been suggested as a 9/11 song, where the snow is actually ash – but if you don’t think about it that way, the song is a beautiful ode to New York when it snows. I can attest that beauty is real, and Mac’s voice only adds to the sweetness of this kinder interpretation.

The final song is a cover of Galaxie 500’s “Snowstorm,” which is a song I encourage to be covered more often. Let’s throw “Santa Baby” in the bin, give me more of this. An added bonus? Superchunk’s version shaves 2 minutes off the original run time, making it a lovely bite-sized option for your mix. Or… you could always luxuriate in the five-minute-long original.

Bottom Line: This wonderful record might not last the day – I’d pick it up if you are curious.

LISTEN

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UPCOMING: Sufjan Stevens – Worst Christmas Ever! (11/6/2026)

Asthmatic Kitty
Buy: Asthmatic Kitty | Bandcamp | Rough Trade Exclusive Variant | Dinked

Well… Hi there.

I’m back, ready to write about some Christmas tunes, fret about the world we live in, and make an attempt not to take each day for granted… as we wait for the AI-apocalypse.

Sufjan Stevens is back too… with a bunch old songs, and a small sprinkling of new. Announced today, the new compilation LP, Worst Christmas Ever!, pulls together some of (what they consider to be) Sufjan’s best Christmas songs onto one album. I imagine this is a better physical-media listening experience than most of the EPs, which require lots of flipping, swapping and listening to some of those throw-away tracks.

Now for the main reason to consider this record… the new song. Technically… there are 2 new songs, one original and one cover. The original, “On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)” is included on the LP, as well as on a limited 7″ only available from the label (as a bundle) and some select stores to be named later. The 7″ is really where it is at… as it has an additional unreleased song, a cover of “Christmas Time is Here.”

I sure would love to just buy that 7″… I will wager that I’m going to pass on this bundle (which would set me back nearly $50) in the hopes of grabbing that 7″ elsewhere… and it is going to slip by me. I waited on the vinyl box sets as well, and regretted that too.

Will I learn from my past mistakes? I’m human, and American… so probably not.

EDIT: There are a few additional versions out there – variants via Rough Trade and a Dinked Edition (which has exclusive stickers and a different vinyl colorway) so far. I’m sure there will be more.

Bottom Line: I’m equal parts intrigued and conflicted (Do I need to buy these songs again?) and waiting for my $5000 check from Daddy Trump. Oh orange god-man, please give me money to buy records. I will let you destroy everything for record money…

(If you don’t sense the sarcasm… I assure you it is there.)

LISTEN

Here’s a teaser.

EDIT: The new song is indeed very, very good.

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moi Caprice – Advent (2020)

Glorious Records
Buy: Qobuz (FLAC/MP3) | Apple Music | Discogs (CD/Vinyl)

This is a record that’s been bouncing around my playlists for a long time. Many years ago, I got into moi Caprice, a Danish band that was geographically and sonically close enough to my Swedish pop obsession to get swept up in the search. Their song “The Art of Kissing Properly” became a playlist staple. I picked up a few CDs and very much consider myself a fan. How I managed to miss them releasing a Christmas EP in 2020 is beyond me. I’m only half joking when I say I consider this oversight a personal failure.

Yes, moi Caprice released a Christmas EP, Advent, in late December of 2020, and it is absolutely excellent. Four tracks, each of which could make a strong case for being the best song on the record. “Christmas, the Magic Is Back” has a wonderful rolling rhythm, peppered with evocative lines like, “’cause the magic is back / and I can do the whole thing from a child’s view.”

That song, along with the one that follows, “Year of the Rat,” are very much Christmas 2020 songs—COVID Christmas songs. However, neither suffers from being too firmly locked into that moment. Both retain a timeless quality, especially in the coda of “Year of the Rat,” where they repeat, “And our kids fall asleep to the sound of our heart.” It’s just ridiculously gorgeous. (It is also featured on my 2025 Christmas mix, A Bit of Christmas.)

The biggest song on the record, at least by streaming metrics, is the third track, “I’m Dreaming of a Christmas That Isn’t So Extremely White.” The concept is interesting, as it references familiar seasonal cultural touchstones like Home Alone and It’s a Wonderful Life, while hoping for new perspectives. A good song, but it somehow lacks the emotional pull of the other three tracks. We’re all different; this may be your favorite!

The final song, “Merry Christmas,” closes out the EP with a promise to make a Christmas song that “truly has the sound / of a Merry Christmas,” and it absolutely delivers. The melody is gorgeous as it floats along on lead singer Michael Møller’s wonderful voice. This is the bullseye—a song that could land on just about anyone’s Christmas mix, in any year they decide to dip into moi Caprice. It is undeniably delightful.

For those who love physical media, you can still hunt this record down on either 12″ vinyl or CD. And wouldn’t you know it—shipping from Germany isn’t terrible these days. I’m glad I can finally write about this now, as I’d been nervous about covering something I hadn’t yet picked up myself, fearing it might sell out before I could. But now I’ve got a 12″ on the way, thanks to the generosity of you all, after coveting it for nearly a year. Truly, thank you all.

Bottom Line: This entire release can be mined for mixworthy songs. It really is pretty damn spectacular.

LISTEN

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Tim Baker – Full Rainbow of Light (2024/2025)

a window surrounded by snow.

End Times Music
Buy: Bandcamp | Vinyl

You may be familiar with the excellent Canadian indie rock band Hey Rosetta!, which unfortunately disbanded in 2017. Readers of this site may be most familiar with their holiday EP, A Cup of Kindness Yet. Though… I would have thought I would have written about that record at some point, but I haven’t. So, I suppose this might be new to you as well. Check it out below if you haven’t heard it before, it is quite good.

(If you haven’t noticed, my posts are more like a conversation than a good piece of writing, and I hope you don’t mind.)

I didn’t come here to talk about the Hey Rosetta EP, I actually popped onto the site to talk about the lead singer Tim Baker’s latest LP, Full Rainbow of Light, which was initially released in 2024. The record is filled with beautiful Christmas, New Year’s, and wintery-themed songs. Yes, this is one of those special records we all hope for, one containing nearly all originals. In his initial release, there are only two covers, one traditional and the other, the contemporary classic “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” Tim expanded the record for 2025 with Full Rainbow of Light Deluxe Edition, which features 3 additional songs, including a cover of Jackson Browne’s wonderful “The Rebel Jesus.” This whole record is pretty damn beautiful, and I’m sure a bunch of you will love it.

Bottom Line: Someone in our little Christmas community with a bit more energy and eloquence really needs to take a stab at a review. I know Stubby found it last year on the forum, but that’s the only mention I’ve caught yet…

LISTEN

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Arthur Satàn – I Don’t Give a S**t About Christmas (2025)

Paradise Records
Buy: Bandcamp (MP3/Vinyl)

Bordeaux’s Arthur Satàn, (The Meatards, J.C. Satàn) has just released a stunning 60’s psych/pop Christmas single, the 2-track I Don’t Give a S**t About Christmas. There’s the spacey psych of the A-side, “Nebula,” which I am honestly having a tough time parsing the lyrics of – I’m picking up “skies ablaze,” “on the brink of madness,” so I’m thinking this is a Christmas + apocalypse song (or maybe just an apocalypse song). However, I don’t have a problem connecting with that fantastic, psychedelic orchestration.

The flip is more obviously Christmas-inspired. “Christmas Might Be Over Soon” begins with a musicbox piano line, but expands into glorious psych-folk as the mantra “I begin to lose control” floats in. The lyrics are less drenched in the grandiose orchestration of “Nebula,” so I was able to get a better grasp on this track. “Too many gifts, for you and me / The others torn (?) in jealousy / No time to waste, we must consume / Christmas might be over soon.” Another dark one it appears…

I loved the description on their Bandcamp, which I happily Google translated for you:

Fresh from their “Journey That Never Was,” Arthur Satàn’s warriors are back on the offensive, but this time it’s a Christmas one!

“I Don’t Give a S**t about Christmas,” the new rallying cry from the Bordeaux-based multi-instrumentalist, features two tracks also tinged with 60s pop influences, making up this collector’s 7″ single, another brick in Arthur Satàn’s sonic and graphic edifice.

These two unreleased songs comprise a limited-edition collector’s 7″ single, whose cover art extends the visual universe of Arthur Satàn, who is also a graphic designer and visual artist: a “Ship of Fools,” populated by warriors piled high in a pyramid, brandishing swords and shields as they aim for the gift descended from heaven.

In the delicate realm of representing the “magic of Christmas,” there’s no doubt: Satàn packs a punch!

The artwork on this baby is something else for sure, which Arthur is also responsible for. And for those who like to hold records in their hands, and maybe even play them… there is a 7″ available. Unfortunately, it carries all the costs of buying records from overseas, so it would be about $35 shipped for that 7″, which I’m just not quite up for after all this Christmas shopping. Blast!

Bottom Line: Some dark Christmas psychedelia!

LISTEN

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Ronnie Martin “The Sound of Snowflakes” (2025)

Velvet Blue Music
Buy: Bandcamp

Ronnie Martin has been releasing electropop Christmas music since 2021, all of it featuring truly excellent graphic design. I appreciate that greatly! I’ve been sampling his latest offering, Evergreen Melodie, and find myself compelled to take note of this fantastic song, “The Sound of Snowflakes,” and these New Order/Depeche Mode vibes it is giving me. This pulsating feeling of Christmas nostalgia is truly overwhelming. Turn it up and dance like an idiot.

Bottom Line: Wonderful electropopness!

LISTEN

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UPCOMING: Polish Club – Christmas Stinks! (2025)

Self Released
Buy: Vinyl | Apple Music? | 7Digital (FLAC/MP3)?

Sydney, Australia’s Polish Club put out one of the best — and hardest to get — Christmas 7-inch singles I’ve ever had the pleasure of writing about when they dropped the excellent Xmas Single back in 2017. That thing is amazing! I still don’t have one… Hell, they’ve even got a New Year’s release worth checking out — “Countdown” (which I should really write about) — which was so fantastic that it closed out my 2020 Christmas mix, Christmas Storytelling.

So… when they teased the cover art on their Facebook page the other day, I pretty much freaked out. I found the site, saw the vinyl, tried to buy one, got rejected by geolocation — and here I stand. Not quite sure what to do. But they did respond to my comments… in due time, I’m assured.

Christmas Stinks! is being debuted on Facebook, with a new cover posted each day for 20 days (they’re on day two as of this post), leading up to two shows on December 20 and 21. There was even a write-up in Rolling Stone Australia yesterday — not sure why they didn’t debut it here! This site is massive!

I did love one quote from Novak that really sums up what they’re doing:

“I used to be somewhat of an edge-lord holiday hater, but I’ve grown to really appreciate how the holiday period affords us a sleep-in, a big belly, and some genuine quality time with people you perhaps should spend more time with,” Novak admits. “I’ve also learned that if you’re sick of Christmas carols and holiday tunes, the best way to get over that is to record your own rock’n’roll versions and embrace the Christmas chaos.”

I’m game, folks. I’ll be listening — hoping that one of these covers makes it onto my next mix — and that I can figure out a way for myself (and everyone else outside of Australia) to exchange money for goods and services.

Bottom Line: I’m listening…

LISTEN

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UPCOMING: Slow Xmas 5 (2025)

Bone Sound Inc Worldwide/Blank Check Podcast/Mutant
Buy: Vinyl | Bandcamp

Coming soon to a Bandcamp feed near you… Slow Xmas 5. The lead single by Death Valley Girls, “Season of Dreaming,” has dropped and is making the rounds on the bigger (normal) blogs, such as Stereogum and Under the Radar. But what do you know… it is getting pressed on vinyl this year, 500 copies on ice blue wax. So, if very slow Christmas music is your jam, here you go!

From the website:

Available on vinyl for the first time as a Mutant exclusive featuring holiday standards and originals from Meridian Brothers, Shannon Lay, Zach Cooper of Grammy award winning King Garbage, Eric Slick of Dr. Dog, and Dave Hartley of The War on Drugs (Nightlands) among others.

Pressed on 140gm and iced out in a translucent ice blue variant (Limited to 500 copies). Offered in 45 RPM so you have the option to play regular slow or EXTRA SLOW at 33 1/3 RPM!!

And for the analog hogs, the majority of the album artwork is practical with an original sculpture by Matthew Rosenquist and studio photography by Robin Takami.

Bottom Line: Got me – only heard one track so far! Frankly, I’m usually grasping for songs to speed up my mix…

LISTEN