We are the War on Christmas (Music)
Alfie
Buy: 7Digital MP3 (US) | Amazon UK MP3
From the album Våra barns julfavoriter – Julmusik för barn
Bottom Line: I wish Pelle Carlberg made Christmas music for my English-speaking child. For those interested in hearing Pelle sing a Christmas song in English, buy his last record, The Lilac Time
HomeMade Records
Buy: Bandcamp
This cassette (and download) release from 2013 somehow snuck by me. Its a small release with largely originals… exactly what I’m normally clawing through the internet to find.
“Wyoming County”, the Scott Rankie song that leads off the release is quite nice – sparse, with a solid, pained vocal. If this was an example of things to come, I would have been very pleased. However, like any Christmas compilation, this release ends up all over the board. The following track, Kevin Marlis’ “Saturday Slay” is a noisy, psych mess (though, in a good way), and I can’t quite hear the Christmas connection whatsoever. Other tracks are lo-fi indiepop (Songs by Thom’s “The Colours of Christmas”), 50’s pop-inspired profanity (“Jeffzilla’s “Christmas Song”), and what appears to be fuzzed-out karaoke (White Widow’s “When Santa Clause Gets Your Letter”), to name a few. It kept my interest, which I don’t say for a lot of Christmas comps… but I can’t say I really loved it.
Bottom Line: I found this comp to be unique, and at times, quite interesting. I have a feeling like some of you might find something else in these songs – that and the name-your-own-price on Bandcamp is encouraging. 3/5
Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp
This little gem has popped up last year on Stubby’s, and I really wish I had noticed the subject matter of the release earlier than I did (I’m on their e-mail list!!). The Legends of Country are the indie-pop/country hybrid brainchild of Jof Owen from The Boy Least Likely To. Jof’s voice can make any country song sound indie-pop, so no amount of twang can take the indie-pop heart out of these tunes. Both tracks feature seasonal fare: the title track “It’s a Long Way Back from a Dream” is a twangy tale that spins the story of Richie Burnett, world champion darts player, as he heads to defend his title on New Years Eve. The imagery is sad & beautiful, and when the trumpet enters the mix, the instrumentation engulfs you. It’s pretty spectacular.
While the A-side takes us on a New Years journey, the B-side brings us back home to Christmas. “From St. George to Snowflake” is another beautiful story-song that tells of a Christmas Eve car ride. The lyrics present a modest and beautiful tale of love and Christmas. Its not hard to place yourself directly inside the verses, and the warmth it exudes is palpable. Finally, there is a wonderful guitar line that shimmers throughout this song… and it gave me goosebumps. Lovely.
Bottom Line: The indie-Christmas pedigree could not be ignored, and astoundingly, the Legends of Country have exceeded my already high expectations with these two incredible tales. 5/5
Self Released
Buy: Stream
Well, I got tweeted at earlier this month – which is always a treat for a niche music blogger.
Our 2014 Christmas offering for you to enjoy. https://t.co/VUB7rHtKM8@XmasUnderground#xmas
— Faye (@Faye_Langley) January 6, 2015
I immediately began listening to the new Faye & the Scrooges Christmas track, much to the dismay of my wife. I mean really… who could live in my house and be sick of Christmas music. Well… perhaps the dog isn’t sick of it… I haven’t asked him yet.
“X M A S” has a bit of a “Terrible Presents” groove (their wonderful song from a few years back), but the subject matter makes perfect sense for this festive band. Each year, this group of friends gets together and records a Christmas tune to share on Christmas eve at the pub. It makes wonderful sense that they might document these holiday shenanigans in song. Too many jager-bombs the night before (no doubt while passing around their new song) leads into a food and drink-filled Christmas day. This is the kind of Christmas day that I also look forward to, but mine doesn’t usually have a good beat.
Bottom Line: F+TS remain one of the best Christmas pop bands out there. 4.3/5
Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp
Los Angeles’ Jess and Frank Charlton are on their fifth volume of Christmas releases, and this one is pretty great. Granted, I’m only talking about one of the 2 songs, but that’s because I’m trying to cram in a couple posts while out of town at my inlaws. “Give Me the Love” is quite a nice pop Christmas song. It certainly doesn’t deserve the “comedy” tag they’ve given it. Jessica wrote this little song, a song of sweetness and simplicity. The production is pretty great for what I imagine to be a bedroom operation. Kudos, please keep it up!
Bottom Line: For two crazy kids who just love Christmas, you’ve outdone yourself. 3.9/5
Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp
So, someday when Copenhagen’s Sweet Tempest officially put out their record… I will be the first in line to buy it. This is the kind of stuff that makes me love Christmas digging – when you find a band that you can love all year long. While I could talk about how much I love “Bones,” or “My Boulder,” the song in question here is “Snow.” I don’t know if I can sufficiently say how much I love this song. All I needed to hear is the intro to know I wanted it to be a centerpiece of my mix. That banjo (thats what it sounds like to me) as it meets the drums… damn. Just listen. I have high hopes for the next few months, as the band seem to look to winter for inspiration… and I could use another beautiful Sweet Tempest song for 2015’s mix.
Bottom Line: While not a Christmas song, it fits my guidelines with its winter imagery. And had it not fit, I would have rewritten my rules. No download… but they were extremely kind to me. 5/5
Self Released
Buy: Free!
Parker Lewis (Emil Johansson) is one of my favorite Swedish Christmas music songsmiths. In fact, it was the Christmas tunes that got me in the door far enough to buy his latest record, and that’s all in Swedish (which I don’t speak – and its wonderful). Now, Emil has recorded a number of Christmas originals and covers in the past, so when he posted that he was sending out 10 CDr to a lucky few who responded to a FB post the other day, I got crazy excited and e-mailed immediately, asking if it might be Christmas songs. While it turned out that I was not one of the ten lucky recipients, he did not seem to suggest anything about a Christmas song in his response to me. Little did I know he had a Christmas song in his back pocket. “Merry Christmas” is a melancholy little song. The first line sets the tone. “I’m in love with you / even though you don’t call me anymore.” Don’t despair, while the melancholy remains, some wonderful lines sneak into this song that clocks in at barely over 2:00. For example, I really like the line “and I wished for impossible things each Christmas / none of which come true / So this year, baby / I wish for you.” Check it out for yourself, and especially check out his older Christmas songs if you haven’t already. I’ve included the ones I could find on Soundcloud in the box below, but there’s a cover of “Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis” and “All Alone on Christmas” out there too.
Bottom Line: Great melancholy indiepop Christmas if that’s your groove. Now with a download!! 4.1/5
Miles Apart Records
Buy: Cassette
Lets continue this string of indiepop Christmas releases with an infuriatingly small run, cassette-only release from Japan, Miles Apart Records’ Christmas Small Gift Vol. 2. This release comes out tomorrow (Dec. 20), is limited to 300, and is only offering downloads to those who are fortunate enough to get ahold of one of the cassettes. First, I am well aware that the exchange rate + shipping costs will likely make this release not cost-effective for my Christmas mix needs. However, the collector in me keeps looking at it. Oh, and in case you are interested, yes there is a Vol. 1 that was only 150 copies (no download either) and very much sold-out.
Now lets get to the music. The release itself is quite nice. While I’m not as familiar with Japanese-sourced indiepop as I am with those from the US/Europe, the bit that I have been exposed to had lowered the bar (for me) when initially exploring this release. The music and the lyrics for Small Gift 2 quickly surpassed my expectations in just one listen, with a few tracks really standing out for me. Superfriends‘ “Million Miles Apart” is a nice little song that I’ve come back to a couple times… not terribly Christmasy, just referencing winter, but nice. Fandaze‘s “Big Socks” begins with a clip from Home Alone’s trailer, then swings into a classic indiepop sound, with shimmering guitars and hushed vocals. I am having a very tough time picking out lyrics though…
I doubt my description has you chomping at the bit to hear the whole thing (I feel I’ve done a terrible job with it), but this release is very listenable all the way through. It certainly ranks above many of the other indiepop Christmas comps I’ve come across. It may be sacrilegious… but I’d actually listen to this release than any Very Cherry one…
Bottom Line: Solid indiepop from Japan. However, why wouldn’t you allow Bandcamp downloads? I feel like its money left on the table. Navigating Japanese websites is challenging enough to make you scream… 3.8/5
Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp
London’s Les Bicyclettes de Belsize have released a curious little single, where they take two different approaches to the same song. The first version, “The Advent Calendar (Countdown to Christmas),” has a more upbeat feel, and the sound is fuller than the more sparsely arranged “The Advent Calendar (by candlelight).” The track itself is quite lovely – and I really like the bits of A Christmas Carol that they intersperse into the song. While some of the production bells and whistles are missing from “by candlelight,” it also remains quite nice – Your choice of which track to include would certainly be based on the tone you wish to set.
Bottom Line: An excellent indiepop Christmas original, in two flavors! 4.4/5
Self Released
Buy: Stream
So, Fireflies retweeted this intriguing link. The artist is Tramgirl, (aka Edine), who is part of the Hong Kong indiepop duo The Marshmallow Kisses. The Tramgirl project “creates bedroom karaoke pop with worldwide musicians,” and in this instance, the song is with Charlie Darling of Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (who also has a seasonal release this year… more to come on that). Its a classic indiepop Christmas song – sugary sweet music with a dash of longing. If this is a vibe you like, then this is is certainly a highlight of the holiday-indiepop genre.
“count the days and the hours and the minutes till sleep time
climb the stairs say your prayers every boy and girl goodnight
don’t be scared show no fear when you turn off the light now
when you wake no escape from your dreams I’ll be there
I will be there”
Bottom Line: A fine example of indiepop Christmas done well. No download though! 3.9/5
Christmas Underground 