Tag: Bandcamp

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Silver Biplanes “Silver Bells” (2022)

wiaiwya
Buy: Bandcamp (NYOP)

In my previous post, I was amazed that you could make a foot-stomper out of “Silent Night.” I find it only appropriate to mention that the UK’s Silver Biplanes have managed to pep up the (often) slow burn of “Silver Bells.” Most bands find themselves drawn to slow down this classic, yet Silver Biplanes have discovered the path to making this song a good bit of fun. Jangly indiepop is all one really needs sometimes…

Bottom Line: Kick out the jams and speed up those ol’ chestnuts.

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Randolph’s Leap “Silent Night” (2022)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

As with last year’s revelatory treatments of “Jingle Bells” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” Scotland’s Randolph’s Leap has taken “Silent Night” and made it a foot-stomper. Initially released on their excellent, song-a-month Patreon, the track has taken its rightful place on their ever-expanding Christmas Album. While the song has some rough edges, those who love this band’s enthusiasm for Christmas will find them endearing. I don’t like those polished, perfect ornaments – I’d rather have them homemade.

Bottom Line: A Randloph’s Leap Christmas song is a present I hope for every year, and with “Silent Night,” I give thanks.

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Neil Brogan “Christmas (with a small c)” (2022)

Brogan Records
Buy: Bandcamp (NYOP)

I have to tell you… I feel like my mix is the most boring mix for you all when it finally comes out, as I’ve been tipping my hand for a month, and now a whole bunch of you already have these songs on your own mixes. I just have to take comfort in the fact that 99% of those folks who I hand/send one to have not heard a single one… when I do release it, let’s just pretend you’re hearing them for the first time…

THAT SAID, here is another stone-cold mix-worthy song. Sea Pinks (on hiatus?) frontman Neil Brogan has been releasing holiday songs (sometimes hidden on full records) for a few years now and this year gathered them up onto one release, Christmas EP. Three previously-released tracks and one, brand-new-fucking-fantabulous song, “Christmas (with a small c).” Jangly and clever, this track has relaxed vocals and indie rock guitars that, in tandem, make my eyes widen and burst with excitement. This is the vibe I need right now…

Bottom Line: Indie rock Christmas to the rescue.

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Chase Kerby “It’s Already Christmas” (2022)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

Oklahoma City’s Chase Kerby is part of a whole crew of fantastic Christmas music-making folks including Beau Jennings, Husbands, and Samantha Crain amongst many others. I do miss those Fowler/Blackwatch compilations as well, though those came out of Norman (OKC’s close neighbor). Chase dropped a beautiful track back in 2019, “Angels in the Snow,” which was featured here, with typos of Chase’s last name and everything. So let’s say he already had a pretty good rep around these parts. Chase does not disappoint with this dreamy new song, “It’s Already Christmas.” I feel like I’m calling everything “dreamy” this year, but I don’t own a thesaurus and I never learned to read. That, and this is some dreamy-ass folk music. Those shimmering, descending melodies and layered vocals demand me to use the word dreamy – I don’t have a choice. The song also has a sentimental (but not corny) string to pull, best experienced in this beautiful chorus.

The snow on the street was the gift that we needed as kids
And the older we get the less that we feel like it is
But all I want for Christmas are the times that I have missed
Because time with you is a gift.

Once you hit a certain age, those songs about growing up hit harder… only makes sense. Chase handles this urge to reminisce well and doesn’t make me feel silly for joining him. Settle in and enjoy it.

Bottom Line: Yet another beautiful song from Chase Kerby as he helps continue to maintain Oklahoma City as one of a precious few (London, Montreal, Melbourne come to mind) hotspots of excellent Christmas music.

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Corvair “I Believe in Christmas” (2022)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

I don’t know if it is necessary to rehash who this wonderful band is, but for the uninitiated, here we go. Portland’s Corvair is a notable indiepop superduo, comprised of Brian Naubert (Ruston Mire, Tube Top, Pop Sickle, The Service Providers) and Heather Larimer (Eux Autres – who have an indie-classic Christmas EP). They’ve now released three wonderful, original Christmas songs in three years and have firmly planted their flag at the top of the indiepop Christmas charts. The dreamy new single, “I Believe in Christmas,” is certainly bound for receptive ears. The orchestration, the vocals, everything is delivered with a casual beauty that seeps into your brain. Everything is indeed beautiful here.

Bottom Line: I believe in Corvair. Thank god they’re finally here.

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Wicketkeeper “Ho Ho It’s Christmas Again” (2022)

Umpire Records
Buy: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Amazon MP3 | Amazon.uk MP3

Let me give you a quick peek behind the curtain here at Christmas Underground. There is often a healthy discussion in the Twitter DMs between myself and other Christmas music-obsessed folks, and there may have been a comment about my site that went something (exactly) like this: “I say it’s pretty darn easy to make a mix entitled ‘Christmas music to slash your wrists by.'” To which, I replied, “You gotta have your niche.” Well… I’m not all tearjerkers and Christmas humbug (I’m only 51% of those), the other 49% is searching for a song that will make my ass move. So I introduce London’s Wicketkeeper, who has written a song that is 34% wonderful, and 66% fucking amazing, “Ho Ho It’s Christmas Again.” But you really have to look behind the lyrics – they are saying something really profound here. Like in the last verse, where they mix it up and add the “WOOOO.”

Ho Ho It’s Christmas Again,
Ho Ho It’s Christmas Again,
WOOOOO,
lalalalalalalalalalala lalalalalalalalalalala,
lalalalalalalalalalala lalalalalalalalalalala

Kinda brings a tear to your eye.

Bottom Line: The most fun 1.5 minutes of Christmas music you will experience this holiday season.

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Sara Noelle “I’ll Sleep ‘Til Christmas” (2022)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

Sara Noelle has been blessing us with atmospheric folk Christmas songs every year since 2020, and I feel like once you hit three years in a row, we are going to consider it a tradition. This year’s song is as good as the last and suggests that once a few more years pass by, you have yourself a fantastic, cohesive album of incredibly beautiful Christmas songs. These songs are for warmly snuggling, canoodling, burrowing, and such around a fire on those nights when Bing, Andy, and Ella are a bit too in-your-face Christmas. “I’ll Sleep ‘Til Christmas” is a particularly cozy song, where one finds peace in the season, where it calms the outside world and makes you feel safe:

There’s a present in the presence
Time slows down
See the joy in the sky
Flickering stars
Flickering stars

One night in December
Peace calms fear
So I’ll sleep ’til Christmas
I’ll sleep ’til Christmas this year

That is some lovely stuff.

Bottom Line: Sara Noelle continues building her unique catalog of truly excellent atmospheric folk Christmas music.

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Lexie Carroll “Christmas Day” (2022)

sevenfoursevensix
Buy: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Amazon MP3 | Amazon.uk MP3 | Amazon.de MP3 | Amazon.fr MP3

At some point, likely soon, 17-year-old Lexie Carroll will just be Lexie Carroll, a thoughtful songwriter with a lovely voice. Heck, she might be 18 by now, as I am only familiar with the press written about her (Clash song of the day), and I am unfamiliar with her birthday. But I would be remiss to not mention her youth, as it makes this simple, yet beautiful vingette of a Christmas at home with family even more impressive. Give it a listen.

Bottom Line: From London to the rest of the world, this song will be on mixes.

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Toad Venom – The Ingen vidare jul (Christmas is cancelled) EP (2021)

Welfare Sounds & Records
Buy: Bandcamp

If I had a nickel for every time I said, “You name your band Toad Venom, and I’m going to check you out.” Well, a bunch of psych rock musicians from Vikingstad, Sweden finally took me up on this well-known offer, and have also made some absolutely excellent psych Christmas music! 2021’s The Ingen vidare jul (Christmas is cancelled) EP is two tracks of badass psych, as the leadoff track “God Jul” blasts off, a soaring Swedish Christmas anthem (to which I have no clue what is being said). The flip, “Merry (Christmas) and me,” is in English, and very much suits their style as described on Bandcamp: “A band, experimenting the void between spaghetti western and psychedelic rock.” Those twangy western guitars that introduce the track – so terribly cool. The song builds and builds, at times triggering me to think a bit about Spiritualized for some reason. There are so many cool movements to this song, yet it still comes in at an economical 4:00. Perhaps one of the most badass Christmas tunes I’ve come across in a good while.

Bottom Line: Two extremely good tracks from my new favorite band and best friends (pending).

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Bird Friend “Christmas Song​” (2021/2022)

Sedan Is Real
Buy: Bandcamp (NYOP)

From the cold reaches of Portsmouth, New Hampshire comes Bird Friend, compiling their two seasonal singles onto one handy cassette/digital release. The Christmas song, appropriately titled “Christmas Song,” was initially released on their 2021 EP, Songs About Crime, and is a warm story-song of love without much money, a reality that a lot of us can relate to at some point in our lives… maybe even today. Love can find you at any moment in your life, whether you have enough money for wine or not – and thankfully they don’t get caught shoplifting:

when we went on christmas eve
to the convenience store
i was a bum and you were venus
in the front seat of your honda accord

heads or tails would determine who would go
steal us a bottle of booze
you slipped that bottle of wine into your purse
like it was what you were born to do

and i knew
i had to have you

Bottom Line: Short, sweet, and with that bit of vice that can spice up any holiday song, this hard-scrabble love story is quite worth your time.

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