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Kate Canaveral “Merry Christmas Everyone” (2014)

Kid Canaveral

Lost Map Records
Buy: Free!

Kid Canaveral are a Scottish indie pop band who weaseled their way onto my 2013 mix with “Low Winter Sun.” They also throw a Christmas party called “Christmas Baubles,” and are on their fifth year of this wonderful event. I say wonderful, but alas, I only imagine it is… since I can’t pop across the pond for every Christmas concert.

Kate Canaveral is one quarter of Kid Canaveral, and she has taken it upon herself as self-appointed “head of mainland operations” for Lost Map records to record and release a great little electro-indie-pop cover of Shakin’ Stevens’ “Merry Christmas Everyone.” I sure hope that Lost Map gives us a few more tracks for #Baublemas!

Bottom Line: Great choice for a cover – and certainly put her own mark on it! 4.5/5

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Noise to the World 2: Converse Rubber Tracks Holiday Music (2014)

Noise to the World 2

Converse Rubber Tracks
Buy: Free!

Converse is at it again! Noise to the World 2 dropped, and while the Soundcloud play count suggests otherwise, they snuck by me once more! Well, for 2 days or so at least. This one is looking HOT! Four of the six tracks have dropped, with two more coming tomorrow (DUM DUM GIRLS with an ORIGINAL SONG!).

For starters. The GRMLN track, “Before December (You’re Alive)” has a great vibe that any self-respecting indie rock fan will enjoy (hi, I’m one of those folks). I love the programmed beats with the acoustic guitar. GRMLN’s got a new record out, as well as some great covers on their Youtube channel – check them out.

Deer Tick have written yet another Christmas tune, “White Havoc,” though the melody is crazy familiar. Fuzzy guitars, dark lyrics and instruments that sound as though they are battling for space – love it. When are they just going to bite the bullet and write an fuzz rock Christmas classic record?

I’ve got to say – These Rubber Tracks releases seem to seek out and find great rap Christmas tracks. The Michael Christmas track, “Pleasant Winter,” has a great backing track. I love the mix of nostalgia and getting some – there’s something real there. IamSu! Feat. HBK CJ & 1-O.A.K. bring us “Next Season,” while not terrible, is unfortunately not my vibe. The production, with the autotune and the tin-ny programmed beats are certainly a rap convention… but not one I tend to be attracted to.

The final two tracks are just about as different as you could get. Torreblanca & Iraida Noriega’s “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” is the only non-original song on the release… and while its quite nice, the only part that I really got into was towards the very end. The vocals & the music swell in an unexpected way, which was quite nice. The Dum Dum Girls‘ electro-pop “On Christmas” strikes me as a natural progression from the sound of their last album, Too True. Synths dotted that album, lying just under the Jesus & Mary Chain guitars… they just went full-electro on this.

Bottom Line: An even stronger showing than laster year’s generally excellent Noise to the World. 4.6/5

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Crying Day Care Choir – Christmas Day Care Choir (2013)

Crying Day Care Choir - Christmas Day Care Choir

Self-Released
Buy: Bandcamp

Last year the wonderful German blog Lie in the Sound pointed me toward this beautiful folk EP by Sweden’s Crying Day Care Choir. The two best tracks, “Christmas Day Care Choir (Falala)” and “First Christmas” bookend the release, and led to a very tough decision when considering which one to include on this year’s mix. I finally decided to add “First Christmas,” which surprised me. Sweet Christmas songs have never really been my forte, and this is most certainly the sweetest to make a mix. The song is grounded in a reality that I found beautiful, and try as I might, I was unable to talk myself out of adding it. It was just too good.

Bottom Line: Simple, beautiful folk music and harmonies from Sweden. 4.8/5

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Support the Artists

As we gear up for Christmas, please keep in mind those fine creators of excellent Christmas music, and be sure to BUY their music. The only way we’ll keep getting new songs is by supporting the artists who create them. Buy a LP. Buy a t-shirt. Buy a song. If you love it, donate to them even when it says “free.” Christmas Underground is not about directing you to whatever the next free Christmas song is, nor will it ever help you find it illegally. I always prefer to be able to provide a “Buy” link, because when something is truly great, I viscerally want that band or singer to really benefit from their good work. So, if you are finding my site from a forum somewhere out there that is trading full rips via mediafire… please know that this is not that kind of place.

Support the artists.

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Saint John and Farmer Jesse “Snowy Evening” (2014)

Saint John and Farmer Jesse

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

Saint John and Farmer Jesse put Robert Frost’s “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” to music, and hot damn if it doesn’t work wonderfully. The whole thing is unexpected – the vocals are a touch gravely, and the music, with the programed beats and the jangling guitar, are far from what you might expect if you were to be presented with the prospect of this song. Internet, feel free to correct me, but in my basic searches (mainly Youtube), there is NOTHING coming close to a treatment like this (at least for this poem). This is just one track off their new, wonderfully-titled Christmas record, Krampus and Clover. Check it out, perhaps other tracks may tickle your fancy the way this did mine.

Bottom Line: I really enjoyed their approach, and while not an original “song,” their choices most certainly are. 4/5

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Chris Farren “I’m Not Ready For Christmas (ft. Mae Whitman)” (2014)

Chris Farren - Like A Gift From God or Whatever

Self Released / Soft Speak Records
Buy: Bandcamp | Very Limited Vinyl | Limited Vinyl Repress

Naples-based singer-songwriter Chris Farren has a very interesting Christmas record coming out tomorrow. I can’t say I knew too much about him, but certainly recognized his “The Smiths” t-shirt that made the rounds earlier this year. This ignorance left me quite surprised by this first single, “I’m Not Ready for Christmas.” I either expected a punk or comedy record, to be honest. I was most certainly wrong. What I found instead is a wonderful Christmas song, chock full of the kind of regret that the holiday season can bring. You may think that I revel in wrong stuff… but come on, its songs like this that make listening to Christmas music palatable. If all you listen to are jingle bells, you are an insane person (or will become one). That said, this song is bound to bring up some lost love in your past, be it the girl you loved in grade school or the boy you almost married. “Maybe in another life we’d be walking down that aisle, / but under white string lights you’ll go left and I’ll go right, / and wish each other another silent night.” That part comes in right after he introduces this saxophone that completely makes the song. Tasteful sax, nothing like it. Lots more to read about this record over at Vice’s Noisy blog, including a rundown of all the guests on his full length, Like A Gift From God or Whatever, and an interview where he discusses every song.

EDIT: Just announced today (October 20, 2015) – Vinyl edition with a vinyl-only bonus track!
EDIT: Just announced today (November 6, 2017) – Randomly-colored vinyl repress of 500 copies!

Bottom Line: I loved this slice of melancholy, and the beautiful music only made it sweeter to hear. I only wish I could hear more (it comes out tomorrow!) 4.9/5

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Christmas Mix 2014: Jolly Snow Sculptor Santa

Jolly Snow Sculptor Santa

So, it done. Lots of stuff that was released last year, as it usually is. You see, I try to get this mix done by Dec. 1, and most of the tunes come out later than that!! Tons of Nordic states are represented (as usual), and perhaps the sweetest tune I’ve ever put on a mix as well. Perhaps fatherhood has had an effect on my mix… but don’t worry, I’m not going to get all soft on you.

Jolly Snow Sculptor Santa from sixtywatt on 8tracks Radio.

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Los Campesinos! – A Los Campesinos! Christmas EP (2014)

Los Campesinos! Christmas

Caroline
Buy: 7Digital MP3 (US) | Amazon UK

Los Campesinos! have established themselves as one of the most reliable purveyors of fine indie Christmas tunes. With songs such as “Kindle a Flame In Her Heart,” “A Doe to A Deer,” and the beautiful cover of the traditional song “The Holly and the Ivy,” every song they had done was so good that had these been the only songs Christmas songs they ever released, I would feel fortunate. Released as mp3s (I thought there was a Heat Rash release, but I can’t find it) in the past few years, each Los Campesinos! release has been both surprising and spectacular. Thus, when I saw on Stubby’s site that Los Campesinos! was going to release an entire Christmas EP, I was over the moon. Expectations were high… and they were met. The new track, “When Christmas Comes” is just as interesting as their previous originals, and unlike anything else that has been released this year. The other new original “The Trains Don’t Run (It’s Christmas Day)” has a slower pace and a more dour vibe. It may be a downer, but a satisfying one. Finally, the cover of Mud’s “Lonely This Christmas,” is by far the weakest on the record. Los Campesinos! originals are so much better that the contrast becomes quite stark – why even bother with a (modern) cover when your songs are so much better?

I do hope for a volume 2 somewhere down the line. Los Campesinos! rule!

Bottom Line: At times glorious, at the very least extremely listenable all the way through. Extra points for the vinyl, as well as the cheap price! 5/5

 

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UPCOMING: It’s Coming on Christmas 2 (2014)

It's Coming on Christmas

Daisy Digital
Buy: Bandcamp | Bandcamp Deluxe Edition

One of the most anticipated releases (for me) this year is Daisy Digital‘s charity compilation, It’s Coming on Christmas 2. She just released the lineup of bands, and it includes a NEW Slow Club song, as well as tracks from Summer Camp, Shy Nature and The Districts to name a few (there are a TON of bands on this list). I’m damn excited, and can’t wait to hear it. While it may be coming out too late for this year’s mix (for me at least)… I’m going to have an eye on next year for sure. More to come on this release as it develops.

Be sure to check out last year’s compilation as well – all proceeds are donated to CoppaFeel! a charity that helps breast cancer awareness, educating young people on the importance of checking their boobs regularly and knowing the signs and symptoms of breast cancer.

UPDATE: There is now a deluxe version available as well, with 3 additional tracks, outtakes, bonus photos, and a PDF booklet. And they both come out on December 10th!

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Carousel “Christmas Time With You” (2012)

Carousel

Self-Released
Buy: Stream

It was December 24th, 2012, and San Francisco’s Carousel released an indiepop gem of a Christmas tune on their Facebook/Soundcloud. So, it probably never made a mix that year. That’s a tough time to have a song drop, and it may have even gotten a little lost in the shuffle for 2013. In a cursory search on Google, I don’t believe it popped up on any of my Christmas-bloggin friends last year, though I did not look terribly hard (sorry if I missed you). Therefore, I bring this to the masses for mix-consideration in 2014. Electro indie pop at its finest, I do enjoy this little song. Classic Christmas subject matter (all I want is you) with a great beat.

Bottom Line: While their official feed has taken down the link, you can listen to it below and those who are motivated enough, will certainly know how to grab it. 4.4/5

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