Tag: High Tropics

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High Tropics “Got a Message for Santa” (2025)

Young man with messy hair wearing a sant hat and santa suit staring at the camera.

indiemono
Buy: Qobuz (FLAC) | Apple Music | Amazon MP3 | Amazon.uk MP3

The High Tropics threw a new song at us at the end of last season, and unfortunately I often lack the opportunity (or energy) in those busy final days to write about all the deserving new music that gets released. But please, don’t take my laziness as any sort of judgement against a song – an “it’s not you (the song), it’s me” scenario.

I hope you have had a moment to check out the High Tropics’ previous Christmas tunes, as I heaped a good bit of praise on them last year – right before they released this latest song! “Got a Message for Santa” has a distinctly different, non-Strokes-y vibe. Yeah, that Casablancas-esque casual vocal delivery is still there, but those bongos and synthesized backing vocals paint a very different picture from those earlier High Tropics’ seasonal gems. This song is less indie rock, and a bit more pop – but don’t worry, plenty of folks aren’t going to appreciate the lines about “getting high” mixed into their family get-together soundtrack – take that squares! This song may sound sweet, but it has enough bite to keep your badass alternative Christmas cred intact.

Bottom Line: Yet another solid seasonal tune from this Aussie band, who are now 3-for-3 if my calculations are correct. Just got to carry the one…..

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High Tropics “All I Need This Christmas” (2023) and “Lonely Christmas” (2021)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp | Apple Music

I have a tough time writing about songs you can’t actually go out and buy. A big part of why this site exists is not only to spread the best Christmas music I can find, but also to point you toward the best place to pay money for the hard work of these talented musicians. Art is work, and work deserves compensation. It really is that simple.

Because of that, I’ve been meaning to write about these two fantastic songs by Australia’s High Tropics for a while, but there’s never really been a place for you to purchase them—until today. I shot the band a note last night and, voilà: Bandcamp. So here we go.

I discovered High Tropics via the excellent Von Pip Musical Express podcast back in 2023 and was immediately smitten. Before diving into the songs, though, I have to address the elephant in the room: yes, these are the best Christmas songs the Strokes could ever wish to write. The similarity is undeniable, but that only serves to highlight the Strokes’ complete lack of original Christmas songs—and High Tropics’ absolute slam dunk in delivering two original seasonal gems.

2023’s “All I Need This Christmas” made my mix last year, thanks to its relaxed, synthy stroll through the well-worn “all I need for Christmas is you” territory. The lyrics are simple, essentially repeating the same verse twice, but even within that limited space, the song finds a way to feel fresh and new. Take the opening stanza:

Everybody’s talking ’bout a brand new year
I’m still playing catch-up with the last one, baby
I don’t wanna tell you how it ought to be
I’m just tryna make it to tomorrow lately

There’s something so laid-back and assured about this song—a calm, effortless cool that’s hard to deny. As the song puts it near the end, “I know I could win you over,” and it absolutely has.

“Lonely Christmas” first appeared on SoundCloud back in 2021, along with a demo version, and it’s only a matter of time before one of those makes its way onto one of my mixes. The lo-fi vocals, the sticky chorus, and—once again—that feeling of effortless cool the Strokes helped reintroduce to rock music in 2001 all come together beautifully here. High Tropics have kept that flame alive and turned it into something genuinely special.

The two songs feel like siblings, sharing a similar structure of repeated verses and a catchy chorus. Somehow, High Tropics manage to make yet another classic Christmas trope feel anything but stale.

Bottom Line: I can’t think of an A/AA single that would be quite as good as these two.