indie rock – Page 10 – Christmas Underground

November 22, 2022September 8, 2023

Beau Jennings & the Tigers “Midnight Service” (2022)

Beau Jennings wowed us all a few years back with his stunning Christmas LP, The Christmas Light, and we can all be thankful (it is nearly Thanksgiving!) that he took another stab at a seasonal song – because we all know it is going to be great. “Midnight Service” is a slow burn, with a simple, shimmering guitar line that flutters from ear-to-ear, a delicate flurry of musical snow to encase Beau’s “internal Christmas journey.” The song beautifully captures the transition between a child’s Christmas and an adult’s, and an embrace of something new. This is best captured in his last beautiful lines:

“Now I don’t worry anymore / about the kind of Christmas I knew before
I let it come and I let it go / like the northern wind or the falling snow.”

Bottom Line: This song is full of heart and beauty, and is a wonderful addition to Beau and Co.’s stellar seasonal catalog.

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November 21, 2022September 8, 2023

The Walters “Another Christmas” (2022)

Self Released?/Warner?
Buy: 7Digital (FLAC/MP3) | Apple Music | Amazon MP3 | Amazon.de MP3

I love those Crookes’ Christmas records that they used to put out… and Chicago’s The Walters has me feeling those sorts of feelings once more. TikTok brought them back together after 4-year hiatus, just in time for their first seasonal single, “Another Christmas.” The song shares some DNA with those great indiepop/rock singles of I loved – sentimental and catchy to the point that you end up bobbing down the street singing the chorus in your head. While the main thrust is somewhat sad, spending Christmas alone and such, the end of the song, “everybody’s singing / Christmas bells are ringing” suggests that everything is going to be alright.

Thanks to Tim for the tip!

Bottom Line: A classic “Christmas alone” song with an indiepop hook that’s gonna snag you.

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November 17, 2022November 17, 2022

Phoebe Bridgers “So Much Wine” (2022)

Who would have guessed… the Handsome Family classic underground Christmas song “So Much Wine” has finally broken through to the mainstream with Phoebe Bridgers selecting it as her yearly Christmas song. I must say… it is her best one yet. I am genuinely torn as to whether I like hers or Katy Kirby’s better, and I believed Katy’s to be a 2022 Christmas mix lock. Sit back and enjoy… this one is so terribly good.

EDIT: I thought that was Andrew Bird whistling in the background… and yup, it was.

Bottom Line: Phoebe has really knocked it out of the park with this year’s Christmas song… and solidified the Handsome Family’s “So Much Wine” with solid, underground (and maybe mainstream??) classic status.

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November 16, 2022

Titus Andronicus “Drummer Boy” (2022)

Have you ever heard a song and wondered, “what took so long?” Titus Andronicus popped into my Bandcamp feed this morning with a reworking of a classic song that absolutley everybody knows… but as a Christmas song. It makes so much sense… as if it was always there in the ether and somebody just needed to grab it. I really don’t want to ruin the smile that you’ll have when you immediately realize what they’ve done. This is indeed a Drummer Boy that I can get behind :).

Bottom Line: Just a good bit of fun.

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November 8, 2022

Bad Bad Hats “Sally Sweet Tooth” (2021)

Don Giovanni
Buy: Bandcamp

I am finally getting through all the stuff I meant to listen to last year. If you are someone who feels as though a shitload of browser tabs is a personal failing, let me introduce you to the largest failure I know… Me. Thankfully, every so often you find something that makes saving that session worth it. Minneapolis’ Bad Bad Hats has been producing a song a month on their Patreon since at least October of 2020, and what do you know… December 2020’s theme was Christmas! Let’s let them tell you a bit more:

“I was listening to all the holiday classics to get inspired and I was struck by how many great characters there are in the Christmas canon: Rudolph, Frosty, a run-over Grandma. So I wanted to add a new character to the mix. She’s a little sweet, she’s a little sassy. She’s Sally Sweet Tooth. And you’d be wise to give her your cookies.”

The song was deemed worthy to bust out of the Patreon $5 tier jail to the wider world last December, in all its early-2000s alternative/power-pop goodness. So rejoice, and remember not to be stingy with your cookies… she’ll get ya.

Bottom Line: An extremely delicious jam to spread all over your Christmas mix.

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November 4, 2022

The Martial Arts – Christmas With The Martial Arts (2020/2022)

wiaiwya
Buy: Bandcamp (digital/lathe-cut vinyl)

Look at me… now I am REALLY just copying Christmas A Go Go as I essentially update and repost an older post with exciting new information (rather than have to write a whole new post… which is WORK!) The wonderful Where It’s At is Where You Are (wiaiwya) label has just dropped 50 lathe-cut, 10″ copies of The Martial Arts’ excellent Christmas EP, Christmas with the Martial Arts. And hey – it’s Bandcamp Friday, so Bandcamp isn’t even taking their cut! Go buy it now! And now, my original review:

I’m in a mood tonight. I want to just yell and swear (in a good way) about every record I find. You have no idea what I’ve already written and deleted for this review, but let your mind go crazy. Glasgow’s The Martial Arts is a project of Paul Kelly, whose CV is a murderers row of great bands (BMX Bandits / Carla J Easton / The Primary 5 / Ette / Radiophonic / Tuckshop / How to Swim / The Hector Collectors) has put together this just FUCKING FUN AND WONDERFUL Christmas EP, recorded over eight years and finished over lockdown. The first two bouncing, beautiful tracks, “Stockings” and “Snow Flakes,” just take off like a rocket and shoot sparklers out of their ass for four minutes a piece. I devoured every second, with a giant grin on my face. “My Christmas was in June” is a cover of a Ze Malibu (feat. members of Redd Kross and that dog) song, and while the tempo slows to a stroll, the scenery is gorgeous. The final track and the only one actually fully-recorded in 2020, “Blinded by the Night” takes me back to the 80’s, to an emotional moment in a movie with lots of driving in the rain and staring out the window. “Stare into my bright disco eyes,” god I love that line. Go buy this record, but wait a few hours for #Bandcampfriday, why don’t ya?

Bottom Line: This is an indie/power/retro pop mixture that, like the unholy concoction the Long Island iced tea, will fuck you up real good.

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November 2, 2022November 2, 2022

Coach Party “Wonderful Christmastime” (2020)

There are some songs that I really, really don’t enjoy… and Macca’s “Wonderful Christmastime” is most certainly on that list. For a guy who genuinely enjoys synths, one would think that I might be more fond of this modern classic, but those sugary-sweet synths rub me the wrong way. Thankfully, Coach Party has flown in from the Isle of Wight and saved the day, scrubbing those cloying synths with as many fuzzed-out guitars as humanly possible. Granted, they didn’t have quite the same hill to climb as anybody who tackles “Little Drummer Boy” might, but I tip my hat to Coach Party for making this terrible song pretty damn awesome.

Bottom Line: There is still a pop sensibility here, but Coach Party has frayed the edges enough to make me a fan.

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October 28, 2022October 28, 2022

Hope Irish “Here’s to Holidays” (2009)

Superpop Records
Buy: Bandcamp (NYOP)

I love digging up old songs as much as I do hearing the latest to drop. 2009’s “Here’s to Holidays” by Austin, Texas’ Hope Irish is one of those forgotten gems that I feel genuinely fortunate to have stumbled upon. The production is full of interesting colors, from the accordion melody to the mandolin, guitar, and slapping drums, providing a wonderful ramshackle accompaniment to Hope’s feisty, boozy lyrics about being alone on Christmas. The ending is particularly notable, as Hope repeats “If I could I’d piss your name in the snow…,” a sentiment that my wife, while falling asleep, really connected with. That’s love folks.

Of note – this song appeared on Superpop Records’ Holiday Collection 2009. Anybody have this? Want to share?? 🙂 I’d love to know what else was on this…

Bottom Line: A quick, boozy song of love and loss is a formula that (unsurprisingly) I can very much get behind.

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October 27, 2022October 27, 2022

Lucie,Too “Winter Song” (2020)

Thistime Records
Buy: Bandcamp

I must say, I’m much less familiar with the Japanese indiepop scene than I probably should be. I more than dabble in indiepop, I seek it out… yet somehow I’m only now learning about what appears to be a very popular band from Utsunomiya, Japan, Lucie,Too. Their excellent Christmas single from 2020 is the kind of song that requires no further understanding of what is being said, as you’re going to be tapping your foot too much to care. However, I take comfort in the fact that it follows that tried and true indiepop formula of upbeat music with sad lyrics; the song is about the “worst Christmas for a lonely girl who went on a date with (a) taken guy.” There were cassettes of this available back in the day – but again – this band appears to be quite popular (based on the Bandcamp collections/Youtube views/etc), so those are long gone. Too bad for physical music fetishists like me…

Bottom Line: Extremely good indiepop destined for any mixes that have missed it over the past two years.

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October 25, 2022October 25, 2022

Tino Drima “I Wish That it Was Christmas” (2019)

Going through my drafts is always fun. Here’s a pearl that led off my Christmas mix last year, yet somehow never made an official entry on the site. Get ready for some extremely modest exposure, Tino Drima!

California’s Tino Drima somehow snuck this gold nugget by us all… and I’m honestly amazed that I’m the first website to highlight this fantastic song. The groove is infectious, and Tino’s relaxed vocals give the song a swagger not often found in Christmas music. For those who listened to 2021’s “This is Just a Modern Xmas Song” (and there may be about 300 of you out there in the billions that live on earth), I hope you Shazamed that first song, hunted it down, and have found a home for this song on your mix this year.

Bottom Line: This song deserves to be an indie rock Christmas classic.