Tag: indiepop

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Liza Anne “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” (2020)

Tone Tree Music
Buy: Bandcamp

I hear the same songs all the time. Give yourself a win if you are not knee-deep in Christmas music for 4-5 months every year. Thus, when I hear something markedly different from the norm, I grab on for dear life. Nashville’s Liza Anne has provided this rescue buoy with her refreshing rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” The orchestration makes this sad song sound downright happy, as instruments bounce around, popping in and out of the familiar melody. The damn thing just made me smile. This song is a vibe, one that I’m happy to surf on.

Bottom Line: Liza Anne has beautifully reimagined a classic.

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UPCOMING: Sunturns – Christmas III (12/6/2024)

Fika Recordings
Buy: Bandcamp

What timing – to announce your new record on the same day as Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom’s album… I’ll let you in on a little secret: I ordered this record first. If you are new to this blog, you may be new to Sunturns, and I’m a little jealous of you. There are two previous records full of wonderful, original indiepop Christmas songs for you to discover. Comprised of members of Monzano, Making Marks, Little Hands of Asphalt, Moddi, and Einar Stray Orchestra, this crew has been killing it since 2011 – which predates this blog! Hell, you might say that they were part of the reason I started this thing… not enough folks were talking about Sunturns! Well, 2024 brings us Christmas III, compiling several tracks they’ve released in the years after Vol 1 & 2, while also gifting us a whole fistful of brand new songs. I’m incredibly excited about this one – and boy does that vinyl look pretttttty. Of note, if you haven’t bought Vol. 1 & 2 on vinyl… it appears they are down to 2 copies on Fika’s website. I nearly bought one today so I could have a backup copy…

There’s a rather extensive press release on their Bandcamp page – I’d say go there and check it out to further pump yourself up for December 6th. I will highlight one paragraph below that I found particularly useful (and endearing):

If previous albums Christmas I (2011) and II (2015) are somewhat different from each other, then Christmas III represents a fusion of the two. Sunturns’ debut is full of youthful exuberance and was recorded with plentiful overdubs in Oslo, while 2015’s follow up is more pensive and somewhat darker, and was recorded live during one week in the Swedish forests. Einar elaborates: “I love making records like this: short, effective sessions with limited time and therefore no bland ‘perfection’. There’s a nerve to knowing you can collectively bring it all together without the luxury of time”. Christmas III represents a return to the lighter tone, on at least some of the songs, but with the wisdom of age that emerged on the second. You can’t just return to your twenties, however much you might want to!

“You can’t just return to your twenties, however much you might want to!”

I hear that. Especially my body 🙂

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Amason “Santa’s Coming to Free Them” (2020)

Amasonason AB
Buy: Apple Music | Amazon MP3 | Amazon.de MP3

Sometimes I dig up wonderful songs, but they only fit within one specific year. Maybe they namecheck a year, a certain former (lord help us, keep him former please) guy, or a global pandemic. These songs are often quite visceral, filled with vibrating emotions… written with a sense of immediacy, and propelled by a world beyond our control. “Santa’s Coming to Free Them” feels a lot like those kinds of songs… but because the song dwells on the experience of children living through war, it avoids the confines of one year and one conflict. One might bestow on this song an evergreen status that also condemns humanity. I normally try to be a bit fun on this site… whoops!

Amason is a Swedish indiepop/rock supergroup of sorts, whose lineage I will defer to Wikipedia‘s expertise: Amanda Bergman (also known as Hajen, Jaw Lesson, and Idiot Wind); guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist Gustav Ejstes (from Dungen); keyboardist Pontus Winnberg (from Miike Snow and Bloodshy & Avant); drummer Nils Törnqvist (from Little Majorette); and bassist Petter Winnberg (from Little Majorette). They’ve been releasing music since 2015, and in 2020 dropped this punch-in-the-stomach Christmas single. I feel quite uncomfortable talking about how impressed I am with the vocal delivery on a song you wish never needed to be written, but I will take a brief stab at it. I was terribly impressed with Amanda Bergman’s control and her ability to convey emotion. Her delivery is incredibly intimate–more like a desperate prayer than a pop song. That’s about all I can do – the song is very well done, and it breaks my heart that it exists.

How about we just stop bombing the shit out of each other so we don’t get any more songs like this.

EDIT: Amason also recorded a version of Ave Maria in 2019. Check it out if you feel so inclined!

Bottom Line: If you are the type who likes to craft a challenging Christmas mix… grab this one and Stars’ “Christmas Song” and leave them in tears.

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Pascal Babare “Santa’s Seasonal Showdowns” (2013)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

I must assume that everyone who visits this blog listens to my mix every year, notebook in hand, downloading their thoughts and feelings about every single track so you can forever remember that moment of listening to such a wonderful Christmas mix. That is my basic expectation of you all… I trust you haven’t let me down. That being said, I’m sure this song is old news to you all, as Pascal Babare’s “Santa’s Seasonal Showdowns” was a highlight from last year’s Christmas mix, I’m an Igloo (track 11, probably on page 2 of your notes). One of the many Aussie’s whose amazing Christmas songs I’ve been digging up, this one most certainly stands out. “Santa’s Seasonal Showdowns” tells the tale of a sadistic Santa orchestrating a Running Man-style life-or-death competition – kidnapping, assault, weaponry, the works. Color this story with delicate vocals and beautiful guitar melodies, and you’ve got a delightful, unexpected macabre holiday treat.

Bottom Line: Bloody fantastic holiday fare from down under.

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Socialites “Winter” (2024)

Flower Shop Records
Buy: Bandcamp

I have to remind myself every so often that I have this blog so that my imaginary self will discover it, make an incredible Christmas mix for my imaginary friends, and spread the love (in the form of hot tips to the gracious blog proprietor) so that he too can find crafting this labor of love (and pain) just that little bit easier. It is something I have to continually tell myself when every instinct is to hide away these little songs so that I might spring them on you all with my mix. But… you know… I need to get over that shit. So pull up a chair…

San Antonio’s Socialites have this fantastic jangly Christmas-ish song with a seesaw rhythm that is a likely lock for my upcoming mix (Side note – I did the photoshoot for it today.) “Winter” is found on their May 2024 release, Where To, and damn I like this vibe. Rather chill, yet upbeat music with melancholy lyrics… that’s pretty much the formula this blog was founded on. So go, add this to your playlist and just do me one favor… pretend you’re surprised and amazed my Christmas mix despite having heard everything already.

Bottom Line: I suspect “Winter” was scientifically engineered for me to love it. Damn you Socialites… I will subscribe to your newsletter.

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Kristian Noel Pedersen – Christmas Around Town! (AKKCXV)(2023)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

T Swift has us all talking in eras lately, and I am not immune to the culture – so here we go. Kristian Noel Pedersen began his Saul McCartney era last year, with the stellar Saul McCartney’s Magical Holiday Season (AKKCXIV). The Evermore to that Folklore, KNP has gifted us with an unexpected and glorious follow-up, Christmas Around Town!. For those unfamiliar with the concept of these records, they are an imagined collaboration between KNP and imaginary 60’s pop icon Saul McCartney. This year’s record features an increasingly strained relationship between the two, as the voicemail messages from an annoyed Saul McCartney provide the delightful framework for some of KNP’s best work. From the wonderfully amusing “Waiting for Christmas” with its gorgeous guitar work, to the clever Polar Express-inspired “Dear Santa,” and the beautiful horns on the inspired “Hallmark Holiday,” there is so much to love here. Just press play and attempt to pick your favorite, I dare you.

Challenge accepted! The highlight for me has to be the two sides of “City Streets, Holiday Road.” I loved the amusing lead-in by Saul McCartney, threatening KNP not to make his song sound like “Morrissey-ass 80’s British beeeeep,” nearly as much as that absolutely perfect, Morrissey-ass 80’s British version of the song that of course, KNP makes. This song is some of KNP’s best writing to date – the nostalgia, the memories, while not becoming terribly sad… walking that razor’s edge of happiness and sadness that leaves me wholly impressed. “The city streets / echo the places that we go. / The memories / of playing outside in the snow / And you’re still there / Still see you underneath the lights / Your auburn hair / even if you’re not there anymore.” That’s just a small selection – the whole song has plenty of gorgeous lines. However, what I did not expect is to find myself wondering whether I would put KNP’s “City Streets, Holiday Road,” or the flip side to this track, the version of the song that ends the record, sung by Saul McCartney (aka the incredible Harlan Guthrie). This 60’s pop-crooner version is so warm and delightful, as Saul sings in conversation with these perfect trumpet melodies, so damn gorgeous that I became incredibly conflicted. That first section of the song is so impeccably produced, I found myself amazed it was new, and hadn’t existed for decades; It just FEELS like it should have. KNP has cracked the code for creating a lovable, believable fictional singer/band within another piece of art, a feat hard to explain other than by pointing to other successes like The Oneders in “That Thing You Do,” or Stillwater in “Almost Famous.” There is a quality to this character that makes you want to know more. Truly incredible.

Bottom Line: I feel some magic here… I hear the bells once again. Thanks Kristian.

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Aux Caroling – New Carols for the New Canon (2023)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

How is it that folks put out these weird, fun little Christmas projects… and don’t find my fun, weird little Christmas website? Who knows… maybe Aux Caroling (aka Scott Deaver) has been caught in the spam filter, both literally and the malfunctioning one that is my attention span. Harking (the seasonal form of hailing, obvs) from North Carolina, Aux Caroling has released a whole mess of Christmas tunes in the past two years, a full album last year (Holly, Jolly, Melancholy), and an odd, wonderful EP this year. The EP starts off with “Bulls vs. Lakers, Christmas 2011,” a song largely about a basketball game. It puts you in his living room… talking about Derrick Rose, eating leftover pizza, calling his brother. But there are lines that hint at something deeper than just watching a game, “The future it holds, what nobody knows, then a floater from Rose.” That is some kind of beautiful in a way I wasn’t expecting.

The second track, the hilariously-titled, “Michael Clayton is a Christmas Movie, 2021-Present,” appears to be a response track to his 2022 song, “Is Michael Clayton a Christmas Move?” – which I’m just smiling about as a whole concept for a song. Perhaps Christmas a Go Go will need a Michael Clayton theme post sometime soon!

The final song, “Playstation 2, Christmas Early 2000s,” is using the gift of a Playstation 2 as a way to talk about a relationship with these incredibly clever lines like, “Memories on our memory card ranged not great to barely good.” Once more, I find myself feeling like I’m listening to an Elliott Smith alternate-timeline Christmas record… and I pop on to Aux Caroling’s Instagram and see a post of a hand clutching 3 copies of Elliott’s self titled record. So, while I may have suggested in an earlier post about being crazy… It appears I might have some sense left.

Bottom Line: These short, clever songs are deceptively impressive.

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Big Society “December, forever” (2023)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

Manchester’s Big Society is becoming one of those bands you must watch when December rolls around. With three Christmas releases since 2020, they haven’t put out a dud yet. I somehow missed “On a Winter’s Night” last year, but with the last few days of Christmas deluge, I have to cut myself a break. Thankfully, this year’s glorious new track, “December, forever,” dropped early enough to be featured on my 2023 mix, I’m an Igloo. What do I like about it? It sounds warm and lovely, despite the complicated feelings that run through the song. To think they achieved this as a live take (in their custom-built shipping container studio) is pretty crazy. Yes, some drums and backing vocals were added later, but truly impressive. Is that a banjo? Am I crazy? I think I am. I am. That is a guitar right? Ah hell, I just love it. This is why I don’t get paid to do this – I’m not a reliable source of useful information.

Bottom Line: Big Society with another stone-cold mixworthy tune. Sales benefit The Boothe Center in Manchester, a charity that provides services for the homeless. Open up those wallets folks.

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Vom Vorton “One Turkey Sandwich” (2023)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp (NYOP)

In response to the excellent song posted over on Christmas A Gogo today (Pen Pin’s “Office Party”), I have decided to hip you all to another excellent office party-themed Christmas song! What can I say, I want to join the party and the peer pressure is intense… The A-side to Vom Vorton’s new Christmas single (also the titular track) is the excellent “One Turkey Sandwich,” which follows the narrator’s bad decision-making at an office Christmas party. He begins by being quite sensible, as he has just started working there. Well, the night goes on and the drinking increases, and some poor decisions are made… though it doesn’t get too unbelievable to not be relatable. Simply a clever, very well executed song that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Bottom Line: Well that was a rather quick and sensible review. It’s early, and I don’t want to make a scene. Great song! Mixworthy!

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Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas (Volume III) (2023)

A Benefit for Crisis
Buy: Bandcamp

You know what is better than a few cookies? How about an entire bag! Hot on the heels of last year’s epic, two volume, 108 track opus of alternative Christmas music… it comes for us once more. Fellow weirdo Christmas-music fan Kevin McGrath didn’t plan to put this record together, it really just, kind of happened. He meant to add a few tracks to each record, slap a deluxe sticker on there, and raise some more funds for Crisis, a UK-based charity that services the homeless. Soon, Kevin realized that it would be easier and likely more successful to market the record if those additional songs he had received clearance after the cutoff last year, were put together in their own, new collection – which sounds like a fine idea; let’s maximize the potential to do good. So back into the fray, back to the hunt for more bands’ contact information for Kevin… and after one more, final herculean effort, Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas (Volume III) is now under our tree. This release, just like the stellar duo who preceded it, is lined with hit after hit after hit. There are many bands here that the 15-20 folks who read my blog will likely already know and love (Virgin of the Birds, Wake Up and Smell the Sun, Charlie’s Hand Movements, The Ornaments, etc, etc, etc.), but I’m sure you’ve missed a few here and there, and the chances you’re going to love it are pppprrrreeeettty high. Oh, didn’t you forget to pick up that Jacklen Ro song you loved, since it wasn’t on Bandcamp? I can also see you picking this record up, and listening to a song you’ve heard before, but connecting with it on a deeper level – yeah, you just needed some time to grow with that song. I’m thinking you should probably pick this one up, even if you’ve already got a couple of the tracks… just to be safe.

Volumes 1-3 are a guidebook to an alternate universe of Christmas music that few know exists. If you already live here, celebrate it. If you are just dipping your toes in the water, jump in because these 143 songs will provide you with plenty of depth. Swim with us, won’t you?

Bottom Line: You’re getting 35 stellar songs, conveniently packaged by a man high on his own supply of Christmas cheer, and all your money goes to help the homeless. That’s a win for everyone.

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