Posts

Posted on

Sister Ray “Christmas” (2025)

cover of Sister Ray's believer album, which is a blurry image of the singer on a green background.

Royal Mountain Records
Buy: Bandcamp | Apple Music

Canada man. I feel each year, one country runs up the score, and this year has me looking north. I keep tabs on Sister Ray, as I own her 2022 album, Communion, a beautiful and vivid breakup record with a fleeting mention of a Christmas tree on “Visions” (for you Christmas mixers with VERY lax rules).” Earlier this year, the musical project of Toronto’s Ella Coyes released a great new record, Believer. I absolutely add it to the listen pile, but when I see a track called “Christmas” on her new album, my ears are hers. I love her voice, and the orchestration with the droning bassoon baseline (that has to be a bassoon, either real or synthesized, right?). However, these lyrics are the star. Some lines made me smile, though the kind of smile I wasn’t quite sure of – a sort of feeling that the line might just be more cutting than you realize. There is a moment in every verse that both feels so loving and sorrowful at the same time, that I find myself spinning. I’ve been trying to sit with this song, figure it out on a deeper level before I write about it… but I got antsy. Maybe you all can help.

Snow’s light
For a cynic you sure love Christmas time.
I think I might believe in Jesus Christ
At least til things cool down
Carrying a New Testament around
Like a knife
Like a fence in the foreground
Protecting my house

I played that song just to hear you sing along
I love your voice
The way it sounds with mine
I keep your ribbons hanging from my ceiling
I would celebrate anything
Come into my house

In another life
I’m dressed in white
I’ve been your wife
What a beautiful child, what a beautiful sound
Your eyes, my mouth
Coming in from our house
Coming in from our house

Bottom Line: This is the kind of song that keeps you coming back.

LISTEN

Posted on

Al Nicol & Evelyne Brochu “On Christmas” (2024)

a painting of a snowy scene in the mountains

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

Last year, Nashville-based Canadian singer/songwriter Al Nicol and fellow north-of-the-borderer, actress and singer Evelyne Brochu teamed up on “On Christmas,” a great slide guitar and brass-laced Christmas tune. Happily, I came upon this song because Al Nicol recently released a track with Hiss Golden Messenger on it – and this time of year, I click through on EVERYBODY. So here I am, standing in the kitchen, poking at my phone and listening to his excellent new single, “Only Hoping,” and my eyes widen. This song is likely to be good… and it was. A short love song, with church and too much wine. The orchestration is beautiful, the lyrics are original, and clocks in at about 2:30. Bullseye.

Bottom Line: Christmas 2024, and Al and Evelyne are singing a wonderful Christmas love song. Christmas 2025, and I hope I didn’t just send ICE to a young Canadian songwriter’s home.

LISTEN

Posted on

Communist Daughter “I Was Thinking I Could Clean Up for Christmas” (2025)

girl reaching out to touch a lit Christmas tree.

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

It’s official – I’m excited. Saint Paul, Minnesota’s Communist Daughter has announced a follow-up to 2015’s Sing Sad Christmas EP, which featured (IMHO) the definitive version of The Boy Least Likely To’s “Blue Spruce Needles.” This band can take a song, filter it through their fingers, and make something truly special. They just teased us with the first song off their upcoming November release, Sing Sad Christmas Vol. 2, and it’s just what you’d think. Communist Daughter does not shy away from the darker sides of Christmas – so Aimee Mann’s “I Was Thinking I Could Clean Up for Christmas” is right smack in their wheelhouse. I love it when a band looks beyond the same 10 songs to cover – I am very on board and can’t wait for November.

Bottom Line: A dark and delicious tease for what promises to be a highlight of the season.

LISTEN

Posted on

Oliver Wilde & Herbal Tea “Without You, Die Hard’s Not The Same” (2018)

Gold Day
Buy: Bandcamp (NYOP)

There are few topics that alternative Christmas bloggers enjoy digging into more than songs about Die Hard being a Christmas movie (or not a Christmas movie). The topic has become such a trope that I’m fully expecting someone to start a blog devoted to this subject, similar to this now-defunct blog I recall that collected and catalogued all the “Last Christmas” covers. Well, I kinda found a new one – well, technically from 2018. Bristol singer-songwriters Oliver Wilde and Herbal Tea teamed up for a dreamy tune of his and her vocals, trading lines over the phone at Christmas. Let’s look at the title, which is also part of the chours: “Without you, Die Hard’s not the Same.” Implicit in this statement is that Die Hard is a Christmas movie, as it gets name-checked along with the Muppets, Bublé, and Rudolph. The song is about nothing being the same without you at Christmas. Classic premise, clever approach IMHO. While you’re on Oliver’s page, check out the similarly styled dreampop Christmas of “Yuletide,” a collaboration with EBU from 2015. Certainly, some solid dream pop Christmas tunes to be had here.

Bottom Line: It’s early folks – I’ll get over the dreamy songs and into the more acerbic stuff as the season comes closer and new songs get released. My prediction: It’s gonna be a bumpy ride, so enjoy the smooth travels of Oliver Wilde and Herbal Tea while you can.

LISTEN

Posted on

Art Acoustic “X-Mas in the Woods” (2010)

Self Released
Buy: Soundcloud (FREE!)

As we all stumble through the darkest timeline, I find myself reaching for comfort food. If you’ve been reading this blog over the past thirteen years, you probably know that my north star is Swedish indiepop. So hold my hand, and let’s travel back to 2010. We’ll listen to this perfect three-minute specimen that represents everything I love about Swedish indiepop: lyrics that mix melancholy with sweetness, paired with upbeat electro-indiepop-disco—absolute perfection.

Art Acoustic may have disappeared from the searchable internet in 2013, but “X-Mas in the Woods” has remained on my playlist ever since I first pressed play. That was another time. It feels like we’re a million miles away from it now.

Hope you enjoy, and welcome to 2025. We are all in this thing together.

Bottom Line: Swedish pop perfection from a long-lost project. Art Acoustic – should you ever find this, drop me a line.

LISTEN

Posted on

Winterval – Sad Christmas Songs (2024)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

We all have some bands where you can simply buy their releases, completely unheard. Those folks who have proven themselves, over and over, to have the talent and taste to earn your trust. For this bloviator of alternative Christmas music, Winterval, the home recording project of Duncan Baird, is most certainly in that category. This new album, his third-holiday release, Sad Christmas Songs, is a warm, beautifully produced collection of original Christmas songs. There is some incredibly clever songwriting here, most obviously expressed in the inspired title track, “Sad Christmas Songs,” which namechecks a host of classic Christmas songs throughout the “alone at Christmas” motif. The way he weaves them all in – it is just brilliant. I’m struggling to not post the whole song here – but here is a healthy chunk to see what I’m talking about:

Hey baby where did this go wrong?
Last Christmas we were something strong
Another silent night alone
Sat here singing sad Christmas songs

The cavalry have stopped,
Santa’s got the blues
I’m the boy that he forgot,
what do the lonely do?

It’s a Christmas all alone
In the bleak midwinter snow
Turn around and please come home

Hey baby where’s the magic gone
I walked 2000 miles along
A winter fairytale gone wrong
Sat here singing sad Christmas songs

There are about 10 songs worked in there and even more throughout! It was so damn fun to realize what was going on… which I am a bit sheepish to say didn’t happen until the second listen. Absolutely one of the most clever songs I’ve heard this season.

So, the album is called Sad Christmas Songs, and if you want to get into the dictionary meaning of each word… this does make some sense. The title track for sure, despite the fact that you might enjoy the lyrics too much to be caught up in the “Sat here singing sad Christmas songs” of it all. Take a peek at the following song, “Christmas Without You,” and you may very well get more comfortable stating these songs are specifically sad. But listen to the music, and that synthpop-meets-the-Clientele orchestration will get you tapping your feet far too much to feel down. It is rather like those Swedish indiepop songs I love – pretty little pop songs about sadness that make you smile.

Finally, I must mention the closing track, “Making Christmas.” These people are trying so hard to be together, complications at every turn, until they realize “Suddenly, we both know, where we are, we’re making Christmas / Finally, even though, we’re apart, we’re making Christmas.” Throw in this gorgeous, swelling orchestration, and you are playing with my emotions here.

I am only highlighting a few tracks here, but know that there is magic in every song. From the wonderful storytelling of “Krampus,” to “Times Square Elmo,” which is surprisingly funny, and sweet, but also full of longing, this record is a little bit of everything. Truly one of the best albums of the year.

Bottom Line: Sitting here listening to this record… all I can think about is how much I’d love to be sitting in a cozy venue, some Christmas lights hung about, listening to Duncan play these songs. I’ve got a glass of whiskey, and it is the good stuff because Winterval is top shelf in my house.

LISTEN

Posted on

World News “Xmas 101” (2021)

Austerity Records
Buy: Bandcamp | Crazy Limited Cassette

As I furiously try to listen to all that I can, grabbing large compilations for further listening, wishlisting all the singles that I need to come back to… every so often I hit play and gotta pop over here for a quick, dirty, and low-quality review of a great song. You know… feed those content gods.

Stereogum hipped me to this new track from London’s World News, “Xmas 101,” which if you reallllly want to get technical, was released in 2021. It is quite a fun, upbeat song that I’ve found benefits from multiple listens. World News has a flavor of jangle/college radio sound that I would RIYL if you’ve been a fan of Voxtrot, REM, or as The Line of Best Fit aptly tagged, Big Country. So if that is your jam, jam away! I’ll be jamming with you!

Bottom Line: Good times for all!

LISTEN

Posted on

Kristian Noel Pedersen – Saul McCartney’s ‘Sauliday Party​!​’ (2024)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

How do you end an era? With a big party, of course! Kristian Noel Pedersen (KNP for brevity’s sake) has delivered his 16th original Christmas album, Saul McCartney’s ‘Sauliday Party​!​’, and boy what a journey this has been. For the uninitiated, Saul McCartney is KNP’s imaginary 60’s pop icon, whose ego has been wreaking havoc through two previous records. I have enjoyed this run immensely, penning rave reviews of every installment… and here we are yet again, with the culmination of the Saul McCartney trilogy. RAVE ON!

How the heck does KNP find the time to put these records together?? The production is so fantastic, so much grander than the bedroom pop that a yearly indiepop project like this would suggest. A perfect example would be the beautiful, brass-infused “What Are You Doing (on Christmas Eve?).” This song has all the pop sensibility and production of a vintage Christmas classic, and is one of those songs that I could see being picked up by some big singer to make KNP a pile of money.

The album’s transition from the vintage-inspired sounds of Saul to KNP’s indiepop begins with the Randy Newman-penned, “Snow.” The bouncing synth lines definitely pinch those “Wonderful Christmastime” receptors, as they invade the 60’s pop production. A perfect lead-in for what may be my highlight of the record, the indiepop perfection of the synthy “Christmas Isn’t Christmas Without You.” The songwriting is absolutely spot-on here. KNP takes a classic Christmas trope, the whole “missing someone at Christmas” scene, and somehow writes this incredibly fresh-sounding, upbeat song, and doesn’t reuse familiar “lonely at Christmas” lyrics. So many songs serve us near-lyrical plagiarism, dressed in different musical stylings… but KNP has found a wonderful new POV here.

Finally, the wonderful album closer, “Silver, Never Gold,” where Smiths guitar lines marry beautifully with those classic, Saul-era brass touches. This album is a stylistic journey, wonderfully narrated by the truly delightful Saul McCartney (Harlan Guthrie) throughout, and this final song closes out the Saul McCartney trilogy perfectly.

This record is a wonderful finale to one of my absolute favorite Christmas music projects I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing and I can’t wait to see what Kristian and his crew of merry collaborators have for us next.

Bottom Line: I don’t want to wear you all down with more effusive language… you read the review above if you got here. KNP is on fire.

LISTEN

Posted on

Wake Up and Smell the Sun – The Pedestrian Chronicles, Part 6 (2024)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp (NYOP)

Philadelphia’s Wake Up and Smell the Sun (aka John Murray) was trying to empty the holiday tank last year. With his stellar 2-track single The Pedestrian Chronicles, Part 2 leading the way, quickly followed by his EPIC 25-track Advent Calendar, it sure seemed like John had reached his holiday destination. It does make me think of my old Honda Passport though… I could drive that baby on E for 50 miles – I never once ran out of gas, despite trying preetttty hard. Looks like John had a few more miles to drive this year, as he just dropped a 2-song single, The Pedestrian Chronicles, Part 6! This single begins with “Philadelphia Flurries,” a song with a classic WUaStS feel, having a driving beat propel John’s filtered vocals through some of the most interesting lyrics you’ll hear this season – you really have to check the Bandcamp page and hit that “lyrics” link and read along like you were a kid again. Case #1, the first stanza in the first verse hit me immediately and made me shake my head and smile as only John can:

Plain Jane’s Main Line luscious lips, they only sing the Christmas hits,
Lure you on the naughty list, and kiss you like a hypnotist.
The City Line swingers wine and dine her. Happiness is hit or miss
The lightweights end up tipsy, nibbling jingles from her fingertips

This whole song is like that, full of great lyrical twists and turns (and great Philadelphia references!), with a killer chorus to boot. The kind of song you might just take for granted when coming from WUaStS, but fight that urge and take it all in.

The second track, “Whence I Christmas” is the kind of song that makes you think… this Christmas song feels different. This Christmas song feels like a struggle, someone looking inwards and not quite knowing how to feel about themselves or the world around them. I think that this may be the track John was thinking of when he wrote me this passage about his approach to Christmas music: “I write in the thoughts of Christmas people thinking Christmas things or thinking thoughts that might be thought about in the season of Christmas.  You know, Ebenezer Scrooge ends up a pretty delightful chap, despite spending most of his adult life as a soul crushing, money grubbing, prick.  But, the story is boring without the whole story.” I kept more of that quote than I needed, because I just loved John calling Ebenezer a prick, but you see there how John mines the interior life of his characters for Christmas songs – and we all know that our insides aren’t always pretty. This song isn’t a story of someone who’s figured it all out… you’re in the middle of the journey here… and aren’t we all?

Finally, this isn’t all that John/Wake Up and Smell the Sun has planned for us this year… Friday, December 20th will bring us his first-ever Christmas special, live from Miner Street Recordings with Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey, who have recorded John for the past few seasons. This is the same studio that has hosted many folks we all know and love, like Sharon Van Etten, Kurt Vile, the War on Drugs, Rachel Angel, Big Thief, Dead Milkmen, Strand of Oaks, and Waxahatchee to name a few. John wanted to capture the space at Miner Street, which he says has a “certain magic that cannot be duplicated.” I’m ready for the magic. Here’s a teaser with a live version of “Holly Jolly Tearjerker” from the upcoming Christmas at Miner Street, available Friday on Wake Up and Smell the Sun’s Youtube channel.

Bottom Line: Wake Up and Smell the Sun can’t shake the spirit, and we benefit once more.

LISTEN

Posted on

En Attendant Ana – En Attendant Ana Sings Christmas (2024)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp (Digital/CD/Cassette)

Today is shaping up to be quite a day for excellent Christmas releases. Couldn’t have been last week eh???? Some of us have Christmas mixes, and we have the absurd idea that we might send some to folks in the mail (if I can get off my butt to do so). Well, first up is this excellent 2-track single from French indiepop band En Attendant Ana, En Attendant Ana Sings Christmas. These two tracks are covers done right. First up is “Close Your Mouth Because Christmas is the Day”, which takes both of the Free Design’s classic underground Christmas singles “Close Your Mouth (It’s Christmas) / Christmas Is The Day” and sews them together beautifully. They are mixed up with bits of “Carol of the Bells” as well… and it is… rather amazing. An unexpected song(s) choice, beautifully done.

The second single is a cover of the Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York.” I’ve mentioned before that this year is turning out to be a good year for “Last Christmas” covers… well… perhaps we’ve got to start talking about 2024 and these excellent “Fairytale” covers as well. The orchestration and the phrasing of this cover are like no other version I’ve heard before – they really have made this song feel new. (Of note, they do use the word in this song – so depending on where you stand on it’s use, take note). The ending is absolutely SPECTACULAR… so interesting and delightful, that I don’t want to ruin it for anyone here. So get going and listen to these songs.

Bottom Line: En Attendant Ana does exactly what one should with a cover… made them feel new. A top release of the season.

LISTEN