Rough Trade Shops
Buy: Rough Trade (UK only so far)
Rough Trade Shops has a little Christmas gift lined up for their (so far) UK devotees… as they are releasing one of the strongest Christmas complications of the past few years. Compiling a number of top tracks from the recent past with a few exclusives, Rough Trade are flexing their taste muscles with this lineup. I’m most intrigued by the exclusives, obviously, and am paying particular attention to that Marika Hackman song, “Driving Under Stars,” as it sounds like a stripped-back version of one of my favorite holiday songs of the past ten years. The Peaness track, “Kiss Me Sweet Pea,” (edit – added below) could also be pretty amazing, as I really love this incredibly catchy band. There also appears to be a new Ellie Bleach track (edit – posted below!), which is encouraging… as I still may write about her previous song from a few years back (edit – she deleted it!) … Most certainly a worthy addition to your Christmas music collection, should you be the collector-type.
Tracklist (* denotes that I believe them to be exclusive to this release)
- Marika Hackman – Driving Under Stars (Piano)*
- Pale Waves – Last Christmas
- Allo Darlin’ – Will You Please Spend New Years With Me?
- Julia Jacklin – Baby Jesus Is Nobody’s Baby Now
- The School – Shouldn’t Be Alone For Christmas
- The Big Moon – It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
- Los Bitchos – Los Chrismos
- Linda Lindas – Groovy Xmas
- Black Midi – Jingle Bell Rock
- Chubby and the Gang – Violent Night (A Christmas Tale)
- Peaness – Kiss Me Sweet Pea*
- Bubble and Squeak – The Christmas Stick
- Ellie Bleach – Merry Christmas, Do You Ever Think Of Me?*
- Sinkane – Christmas Wrapping
CD Only - Dream Nails – Lonely Star (Christmas Song)
- Willie J Healey – Merry Christmas
- Girl Ray – I Wish I Were Giving You a Gift
- Stars – Christmas Anyway
- Alex Lahey – Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight)
Bottom Line: A good number of these tracks have been celebrated here before, so yeah, this looks good. Check it out, maybe buy the limited vinyl or the expanded CD… or cherrypick some songs below (where applicable) and give your money directly to the bands!
Christmas Underground 