England – Christmas Underground

December 1, 2022December 1, 2022

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.

LISTEN

November 21, 2022November 22, 2022

BumbleWasps “Mr Christmas” (2022)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

I’m rather active on Twitter, and will not let the giant turd who owns it keep me from hanging out, spouting off, and never clicking on ads. Shrewsbury, England’s BumbleWasps gave me a shout the other day, hipping me to his latest Christmas single, “Mr Christmas.” I always listen to suggestions at least once, and this track was interesting enough to not only have me listen to it a few times but to dig a bit deeper and discover that this is not BumbleWasps first rodeo. He put out an 7-song Christmas mini-album last year, F U Christmas, that is packed full of catchy hooks and seasonal fucking sentiment. Hey, BumbleWasps gets a bit fresh, and I will too. So… let’s just say that I was getting prettyyyyy amped as dove into the discography. “Mr Christmas” is BumbleWasps’ indiepop diss track targeting Mariah Carey, Shakin’ Stevens, Bing Crosby, Elvis, Elton John, Wham! (amongst others), pretty much all the Christmas legends… and it is both catchy and goddam hilarious. I don’t think I’m mistaken in thinking this is some of the best-produced bedroom pop that a little bit of money and a lot of effort can produce (confirmed!). F U Christmas obviously shares the same humorous point-of-view, but you’re going to find some touching shit in there as well. Thanks for reaching out BumbeWasps, you obviously checked out my blog and had an idea that I’d be down for your weirdo Christmas tunes.

Bottom Line: BumbleWasps is carving his own xmas niche, and (if you enjoy reading this blog) you’re going to like this fucking niche.

LISTEN

October 14, 2022

UPCOMING: Los Bitchos – Los Chrismos EP (2022)

Howdy.

I suppose I’m back… gone much longer than I usually do. I often crash a day or two before Christmas, with a browser overloaded with open tabs that I stare at for a few months until I get the courage to finally sift through them. Well… a few months turned into more than a few months (does that make sense?). I suppose I’ll do my best this year, for what this might be worth, and try to hip you to some Christmas tunes I particularly like.

It does appear to be a bit early in the season, so I hope I can be forgiven for writing about something that “those in the know” already know about. Obviously, it is the new Los Chrismos EP by London’s premier surf/psych/rock quartet Los Bitchos. I don’t know what qualifies for an EP anymore, as with two songs, I might have called this a single! I’d like to dwell on that for a bit more, but even I am bored with me now. The lead track off the EP, “Los Chrismos” rides that seam between groovy and chill, exuding a great time from start to finish. Not that I’m completely scared off by an instrumental, but their giggling and chanting were engaging enough that I rather missed them when they weren’t there. I am quite curious what the b-side is going to sound like – but I’m sure at least this first track, “Los Chrismos,” is going to be on a lot of mixes this year.

For those (like me) who love a physical object, there is a flexi-disc of this single as added-bonus to their early-2022 debut, Let the Festivities Begin. So grab that “Los Chrismos Edition” of the vinyl LP and you’ll be the proud owner of a very limited and super-hip Christmas release that will likely make folks like me a bit jealous.

Bottom Line: Track one was fun, but it still leaves the question as to whether track two will bring on the apocalypse (or also be a fun Christmas song).

LISTEN

September 30, 2021September 30, 2021

Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard “Christmas Is Coming (We All Know the Score)” (2018/2020)

You know that a band must love Christmas if one of their earliest songs is an epic xmas tune. Welsh indie/glam/britpop band Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard released this stomper back in 2018, but brought it around last year with an accompanying video and back onto my radar. The lyrics are fascinating, and well worth a watch of the video so you can sing along. You’re bound to find a line that makes you smile and shake your head, as I did with “I can still hear the west dropping bombs of peace / Oh for you and me.” This really is a corker. They also have their proper debut, Backhand Deals, coming out in February, so maybe we’ll get lucky with another tune this season?

Bottom Line: Big glam sound with intriguing lyrics make this a must-listen.

LISTEN

September 24, 2021September 24, 2021

Gold Baby “Looks Like A Cold, Cold Winter” (2020)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

Yes, I do have more Australian Christmas/Holiday/New Years songs ready… but I think we can all agree that was getting ridiculous. So lets take a quick break and head back to the OG colonizer, England! Last year, London’s Gold Baby put out an extremely nice Bing Crosby cover, which of course was not technically written by Bing – but lets not get too far into the weeds here. The harmony and instrumentation feel just as cozy and warm as the lyrics, which on this first day of sub-40 degree weather in Virginia, has been most appreciated. I also like that this isn’t one of the Bing classics that get extremely overplayed, though perhaps that’s my experience, not yours. Either way – and extremely nice cover by a truly lovely band.

ALSO, the proceeds benefit the Campaign to End Loneliness, which makes this song choice even more appropriate. Well done.

Bottom Line: Pick a good song and do it well – Is that so hard? Gold Baby sure doesn’t think so!

LISTEN

September 10, 2019September 10, 2019

Frank Sexuality and the Negative Emotions “It’s Christmas All Around” (2018)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp (NYOP)

I must start with a quick confession. Stafford’s Frank Sexuality and the Negative Emotions immediately garnered a bit of goodwill with me… simply because I fucking loved their name. To my relief, their two-track Christmas single is enjoyable, especially the lead track, “It’s Christmas All Around.” The song has a Waterboys’ feel, even more so as the horn line comes in. The lyrics are clever with a healthy dash of dread: “There’s no snow / there’s no hope / and I’m trying to avoid it / but it’s Christmas all around.” There are some other great lines as well, but let that be a teaser for you to take a sip of your own. Cheers!

Bottom Line: You all know I like to celebrate the dark edges of Christmas, and this song is most certainly chilling in that gray.