Tag: Scotland

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Patience “Fire Baby” (2017)

Intro screen, black screen with Patience written across it in handwritten font.

The Glasgow School of Art
Buy: Video (free!) | Soundcloud (stream)

I do love some synth pop Christmas music. I also love the band Veronica Falls (I miss them!). Smash those two loves together, and you get Patience’s “Fire Baby,” the soundtrack to The Glasgow School of Art’s 2017 holiday video. Patience (aka Roxanne Clifford from Veronica Falls – duh!) does not appear to have released this song in any other fashion than as this music video (Edit – also on Soundcloud). Thankfully, the video is downloadable, and you could strip out the music rather easily should you be so inclined. Give it a listen!

Bottom Line: Some Christmas synths to warm your ears to.

LISTEN/WATCH

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UPCOMING: The Cords “Favorite Time” (12/06/2024)

Slumberland/Heavenly Creatures
Buy: Bandcamp (Digital/Flexi)

I’ve previously written about how much I look to Scotland (this was just a few posts ago!) for excellent Christmas tunes. The Cords are an excellent indiepop duo from Greenock, Scotland, and this upcoming track has a high probability of being excellent. Normally I might wait to review the track before sharing it here – but as there are flexis available now – and likely not for much longer – and I felt I should let you all know ASAP. So, check out The Cords, decide if they are your jam, and buy it.

Hat tip to @noloveforned for the heads up on this one.

LISTEN

Here’s a non-holiday release to check out the band.

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There Will Be Fireworks – No Christmas Bells / This Christmas Is Forever (2023)

The Imaginary Kind
Buy: Bandcamp

This blog started off pretty preoccupied by Swedes (and their neighbors), but has moved around the globe to French Canada and Australia of late. There is one country that I keep a particular eye on though… Scotland. When Scottish bands release a Christmas song, nine times out of ten… it’s fantastic. I’m thinking Kid Canaveral, Frightened Rabbit, Pictish Trail, Randolph’s Leap, Annie Booth, U.S. Highball to name few. This entire post would be a list of names if I let it get away from me. Thus, when There Will Be Fireworks dropped their Christmas single last year, I took note (I should have written about it then… but I am not a machine!). If you aren’t familiar with There Will Be Fireworks, they are big, emotional indie rock in the vein of Frightened Rabbit/Twilight Sad/We Were Promised Jetpacks. That’s a recipe for success in my book. Not a new band to me, as they featured on a very early mix of mine, 2010’s Write About Christmas, with their excellent song “In Excelsis Deo.” Initially only available on Avalanche Records’ Alternative Christmas compilation, you can now grab this great track on their excellent Because, Because EP.

Side A of this Christmas single, “No Christmas Bells” begins with a Sigur Ros-esque piano melody, setting an emotional scene that is only heightened by lyrics that are honestly, getting me a bit misty as I write. I tried to think of a lyric that I’d want to highlight… but fuck it… I keep changing my mind. The entire song is below. Let’s listen along.

This weather’s getting old
And Tinseltown is grey
And work, it gets me nowhere
I need a holiday

But the Christmas lights are on
In the home that we have built
And the love that we’ve put in it
Is all that matters still

And it’s not like me to say this
And I know you never asked
But you know you are the greatest
And there’s a time for saying that

When the kids are in their beds
And the tv flickers on
And we stumble round the kitchen
Dancing to those Christmas songs

I’m done with looking back
There will be time for that
A movie reel of memories
Shines golden through the black

Next year will be our year
I feel it in my bones
But for these short few hours
For once we are alone

No Christmas bells are ringing
No star in Glasgow’s sky
No choir of angels singing
But who needs that tonight?

If this is all there is
It’s all there needs to be
A simple quiet moment
Unfolding happily

Damn. It really gets going in that second verse and doesn’t let up. Why is it that you hear a song one day and are completely fine… walking the dog… just listening, then hear it another day and you are in fucking tears. I never claimed to have this be a real musical review blog… this really has always been an emotional review blog. Anger, sadness, anxiety, nostalgia… those are my references, the tools of my trade. Christmas music is just the vessel I suppose.

Now… can I maintain and talk about the back half of this single, “This Christmas is Forever?” I’ll give it a run. This song is a quick snapshot of a loving family at Christmas. I’m tempted to post the lyrics here as well… but instead, drink in this stanza that sets up the dramatic finish – it is so damn great.

And maybe I’ll sing a little thing
Some half-remembered hymn
It’s here and it’s gone
But aren’t we all?

Do you have a family to share this Christmas with? Well, this song will tear you up. Are you without a family to share the season with? Well, this song will tear you up. These guys are laser-focused on your heart, so don’t press play if you sometimes cry at commercials and you happen to be in public.

All proceeds go to Social Bite, which provide meals, gifts and essential items to homeless and vulnerable people. Easy purchase.

Bottom Line: There Will be Fireworks are back in the game with a 1-2 punch of beautiful, heartfelt Christmas songs.

LISTEN

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OK Pal presents Now Prancer! (2022)

OK Pal
Buy: Bandcamp

I’ve been waiting on this one with bated breath ever since Christmas Underground favorite Virgin of the Birds hipped me to its existence. Scotland’s OK Pal Records is taking a stab at their first holiday compilation with Now Prancer!, compiling their roster of Scottish artists alongside far-flung friends, with 50% of the proceeds going to charity. The quality of this compilation is quite impressive, as I thoroughly enjoyed it twice now. However, I am not one to go track-for-track on any record, largely because of time constraints and partially out of the sheer terror of the blank page. Thus, I’ll pull out a few here to chat about. You listen to the rest!

Brightonian singer/songwriter music​+​magic gives us the funny, clever and poignant “Christmas Number One,” who travels through time and space to ponder Jesus through LSD, an agnostic substitute teacher, a retail park nativity scene, and ancient pagans. I think about that kind of stuff a lot too – how unnecessary actual Jesus might be to our living a good life, as all these things are going on within us that help us live a good live and have a deeper connection with the universe. Love that this song made me ponder this again…

Hailey Beavis‘ “Snow” has me returning to another thought I often have – how great it would be for these huge artists to not cover the same old same old, and cover some of the incredible songs I try to write about here. Not every song is a good fit, and I get that, but there are so many that would work incredibly well on a contemporary Christmas record, and this beauty by Hailey Beavis is most certainly one. Put this on a Dolly Parton Christmas record and let Hailey pay rent for a year. Sound good, universe?

I remember my fellow record store clerks listening to Baltimore’s Viking Moses‘ Crosses allllll the time back when I worked at a shop in Roanoke, VA. I’ve been a fan for years, and Brendon does a wonderful job covering Roger Miller’s “Old Toy Trains.” This is one of those old songs I haven’t gotten sick of yet… perhaps because it is so short & sweet!

San Francisco’s Virgin of the Birds is always going to deliver you some wordy goodness, and “Christmas for the Confessor” most certainly satisfies. However, it is those MIDI flourishes that have captured my attention. Somehow these electronic tones play against type and create this warm musical cocoon. Just beautiful.

Of course, there are seven more tracks on here, but as promised earlier, I aim to disappoint! So I’m giving you work – go listen to this comp and you may find yourself captivated by the beautiful traditional folk of Hildegard Von Cubase’s “Coventry Carol,” the beautiful spoken word of Arum Sood & Hank Tree’s “Song for Baby T,” or the snowy drones of Hardsparrow’s “Voice of an Angle,” which is “about geometry and spiders and hearing voices in the snow.” So get in there and see what’s up!

Bottom Line: The Scots (and friends) have finally shown up in force this season, delivering a great lineup and a very solid compilation!

LISTEN

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U.S. Highball “Marge’s Second Christmas” (2022)

Lame-O Records/Bingo Records
Buy: Bandcamp

I’m not shy when it comes to hunting down Christmas tunes. I was scouring indiepop Facebook, spot-checking bands with keyword searches, and came across the Scottish indiepop band U.S. Highball. The two members of U.S. Highball had both been in the band The Pooches, who released a 4-song Christmas EP a number of years back and was no longer available. Thus, I reached out with the hope that it might still exist somewhere. The band, specifically the half of the band named Calvin Halliday, was extremely sweet and got back to me quickly – that EP was lost! Well, as luck would have it, I am friends with (and live in the same town as) No Love for Ned, a fellow indiepop and underground Christmas music fan. Ned also has a very generous physical and digital collection… and he had it! A couple covers, short and lovely, notably including “Jesus Christ” by Big Star. Wasn’t that a very long story to tell you that Calvin mentioned he and James Hindle were currently working on a Christmas song?! Here we have “Marge’s Second Christmas,” and it is a ton of fun. The song began as a demo Calvin had recorded over ten years ago, worked into a Christmas song, and recorded and released into the world as a beautiful tribute to Calvin’s dog Marge. I want to feel the way about my new puppy that Calvin did about Marge, but puppies will test that love. Think I’m crazy? Have you had a puppy? Or have you just enjoyed other folk’s puppies? Adult dogs, 2-year-old dogs like Marge… those dogs know what’s up and how to be a dog. A puppy is an adorable ball of fur and destruction. The tiny, tiny holes in my clothes…

Ah yes! All proceeds go to Give a Dog a Bone – a charity that tackles loneliness and isolation for folks over 60 through animal companionship. It is the season of giving, so give it a listen, then give generously.

Bottom Line: UPBEAT Christmas indiepop in a season of chill, introspective tunes… you are going to need to mix it up, and this pup will lead the way.

LISTEN

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Randolph’s Leap “Silent Night” (2022)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

As with last year’s revelatory treatments of “Jingle Bells” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” Scotland’s Randolph’s Leap has taken “Silent Night” and made it a foot-stomper. Initially released on their excellent, song-a-month Patreon, the track has taken its rightful place on their ever-expanding Christmas Album. While the song has some rough edges, those who love this band’s enthusiasm for Christmas will find them endearing. I don’t like those polished, perfect ornaments – I’d rather have them homemade.

Bottom Line: A Randloph’s Leap Christmas song is a present I hope for every year, and with “Silent Night,” I give thanks.

LISTEN

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Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 (2022)

A Benefit for Crisis
Buy: Bandcamp

I often think about what it would be like to be just now getting into this hobby of underground Christmas music mix-making. When I got in the game (18 years ago!), there wasn’t quite the wealth of indie rock/pop/alt.country/etc Christmas releases to hunt down. Bandcamp, the venue which I primarily exploit to find cool new songs, wasn’t founded until 2007, and it wasn’t until 2010 that I could have even embedded a track on a site like Christmas Underground. It is both exhilarating and terrifying to think about dipping my toes in for the first time in 2022… there is just so much to listen to – years and years of great songs to get through, let alone all the new releases that come out every year. Well, lucky for my imaginary self, as well as that very real person taking their first stab at making a cool Christmas mix, fellow weirdo Christmas music fan Kevin McGrath has created the perfect introduction to this niche of holiday music with the massive, expansive collection of 108 songs, Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas Vol. 1 & Vol. 2. This is like one of those The Greatest ________ Album in the World collections I used to bump into in the import sections of the 2000s – packing an absolute ton of the tracks you need to hear to fully get what has been going on. The sheer effort that it took to clear 108 songs is astounding, let alone the challenges of contacting bands that are no longer together, and there are some wonderful ones represented here, to which I’m delighted their musical legacy will persist. Readers of this site will find some familiar faces and names, such as Sweet Tempest, St. Lenox, Charlie’s Hand Movements, The Ornaments, Les Bicyclettes de Belsize, and many, many more.

Just know you are bound to discover a new classic or two that you’ve never bumped into before. Christmas Underground is a one-person shop, and I can’t and won’t be able to know every single cool indie Christmas song out there… as I’m currently sitting here listening to Volume 1, bobbing my head to a song I’ve never heard – and I love it. All this great music also benefits a great cause, Crisis, a UK charity that helps the homeless. So, while the suggested price for each massive collection is a mere £7/$8.50, just know that you don’t necessarily have to give only $8.50. Maybe make yourself a sandwich each day this week for lunch and give a bit more? This is the season of giving, and in a world where billionaires aren’t going to save us, we need to look out for each other.

Bottom Line: These two releases could fashion 3-4 years of indie Christmas mixes for your friends and family. It is an absolutely essential purchase for new and old collectors alike.

LISTEN

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Randolph’s Leap – Christmas Album (2021 Additions)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

The absolutely WONDERFUL Scottish band Randolph’s Leap has become almost a yearly feature on Christmas Underground, as they have been putting out some of the most wonderful, cleverly-written political Christmas songs that I have ever heard. Sometimes they release songs with a good bit of fanfare, like the amazing “Christmas, Burn it All,” and other times they sneak one in at the last second when I’m not paying attention like the hilarious “Christmas is a Conspiracy.” This year is a bit of both… they’ve quietly added three tracks to their stellar, ever-growing Christmas Album, but did so with plenty of time a few weeks back. Now why it has taken me this long to really sit down with these songs and listen is an indictment of both my intuition and taste level. Why? Because I should have KNOWN these would be great. It is as if I was taking Randolph’s Leap and their incredible ability to churn out amazing Christmas songs for granted, and for this oversight, I apologize. The main track that I initially focused on was the deceptively-titled “New Pair of Socks.” Who would have thought such an innocuous title would house such a timely anti-Tory Christmas song? Let’s dive into this first verse:

I am a simple uncomplicated man.
I take what I get, I give what I can.
Forgive me for saying,
but you’ve got a nerve.

Now there are expenses,
and I’ve got a few.
You’ve got your own,
but I pay them too.
Won’t you give something back
to those who you claim to serve?

Cause all I want for Christmas
is a tree and some decorations,
a nice new pair of socks,
and some cabinet resignations.

So much of my Twitter feed is UK bands and fans who keep me pretty well informed as to the recent corruption scandals in the Tory government, as well as all those incredible photos of officials flouting the COVID guidelines. I find myself oddly invested in the political fate of a country that I do not live in. But we both have a right-wing that is primarily invested in their self-interest, so it is not hard to imagine the song working on both sides of the pond… ah hell, I’m babbling. The song is beautiful, clever and vicious, and only gets more pointed after that first verse. So, if you are like me and like a little anti-asshole politics in your Christmas music, you’ll dig it.

There are some songs that I rarely ever press play for. You know… those ol’ chesnuts that I (unjustly) associate with little-kid Christmas music, rather than the “adult” stuff I’m usually trying to sniff out. I would put “Jingle Bells” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” solidly in that category… but I may need to reassess this bias after hearing the other two tracks Randolph’s Leap has added to this record. “Jingle Bells (2021 Version)” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” are both extremely listenable, at times bordering on astounding versions that have shaken me. “Rudolph” is a revelation, with a beautiful arrangement that elevates this song to the absolute top of the Rudolph pile. However, what makes this (I can’t believe I’m typing this) song mix-worthy is their phrasing; All the notes that you are anticipating from a song you’ve known your entire life are slightly askew, and it is like a drug for your brain.

“Jingle Bells (2021 Version)” isn’t far behind the “Rudolph” triumph, though it hits slightly closer to expectations, so I’m not going to go quite as far in my praise. The arrangement and production, as well as that guitar madness at the end, certainly push the song into the “Jingle Bells” stratosphere. I am completely astounded and delighted and hope you will be too.

What a band. I’m in awe.

Bottom Line: Randolph’s Leap is on an incredible, Christmas song hot streak. If you haven’t bought this record yet, you need to turn in your alternative Christmas music membership card.

LISTEN

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24 (2021)

Where It’s At Is Where You Are
Buy: Bandcamp

One of the great indiepop labels has spring a wonderful collection of 24 holiday-themed songs on us this year – and for those early preorder folks, the opportunity to a hand-knit wool sleeve. Where It’s At is Where You Are (WIAIWYA) has a wonderful track record of indiepop holiday releases, most notably (for me) Christmastime, Approximately, which features a couple tracks that have featured on my yearly mixes. Let me just say… when more than one track off a comp ends up on a mix… that is a BFD. Compilations are always a roll of the dice, because you’ve got a whole mess of different styles, tastes, etc all coming together – and art is subjective! To have more than one song hit YOU specifically makes that entire record feel even more important by association.

24 features… you guessed it, 24 tracks, which I cannot bring myself to cover fully. I have NEVER come close to a comprehensive review of a record of this size… so please take the time to explore those other tracks that I am not singling out here. Once more, art is subjective, and the Christmas mix I would make does not come close to sounding like the one my friend Ned would… so let’s go exploring! I’ll open the door for you, now it is your job to walk on in and poke around a bit more.

The record starts out setting that beautiful, upbeat indiepop tone, with a wonderful track by Seattle’s Dolour, “Christmas with My Baby.” I love that first verse, which sets the stage well for 2021, but doesn’t get TOO specific as to pigeonhole it to not be listenable year-after-year: “Last year was such a dreaded affair / the year before that I didn’t even care / basically every year before I had no one to share / the holiday cheer with until you were here / but now this year I can hardly wait / so much joy, there’s no room for hate / let it snow, I don’t mind / as long as I’m here with this true love of mine.” This song has that attitude that I think a lot of us (vaxxed) share this year – the optimism that comes with time and understanding. Grab that person you love and don’t let the shit that surrounds you interfere.

Classic Sarah Records’ Scottish indiepop stalwarts The Orchids slow it down with “I Wish I Was,” a beautiful, nostalgic track that may very well be my favorite (at this moment) on the comp. The vignettes they create of a childhood Christmas, accented by their perfect use of brass color, hit you in the head and heart with equal force. Just beautiful.

With my next selection, I invite you to ruin Christmas with Laura and Mike from firestations, aka L&M Kingsize. “We Ruined Christmas” begins by dressing down a Christmas meal, beginning an emotionally complex and fascinating journey. Everything is the same, but you like it that way. You’re miserable, but you’d rather not be at home. We ruined Christmas, can’t wait to see you, same time next year. This song is just kinda fascinating and unexpected.

The BV’s “Krautmas” is more of a groove than a song – those playful guitars over a steady digital beat are as soothing as the first snow flurry. Coming in at track 13, it serves as the perfect intermission between the two halves of the record. Simple and wonderful.

“December Boy” by The Rhynes is the sweetest song on the record. Full of warmth, love, and vocal harmonies, it has some of the best lines on the record as well. I particularly like the first bit here: “You can keep whichever god you’re dreaming of, / but I’ll take all the peace and all the love. / Cause it feels so good to be alive, / We’ve made another December twenty-five. / You make my heart laugh / This December boy’s still got it bad.” If could eat that sentiment for breakfast every day I would.

There are plenty of other great songs on here, the vast majority exclusive to this release. In fact – should you feel so inclined, I’d LOVE to know what YOUR favorite tracks off this record are. Tweet at me (@xmasunderground) or comment here! I may just update this review with your input as well!

Botton Line: As expected from this truly excellent indiepop label, WIAIWYA has delivered yet another underground Christmas classic. Truly enjoyable from front to back, this is one of those rare comps that you can just put on and press play.

LISTEN

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Annie Booth “Christmas Time (Keep It Together)” (2018)

Self Released
Buy: Soundcloud (FREE!)

Ah, to tell the story of discoveirng this song. Annie Booth posted this song on Soundcloud back in 2018, but only for a brief period, as it was gone when I first looked. I had been running down random threads on Facebook, stumbled upon Annie and evidence of past Christmas singles (she’s also done some covers!), and immediately messaged her. I must say… it is rare that a band will ever respond to me, let alone send me to the song I’m asking about. However, Annie Booth most certainly did, and I absolutely flipped out. I have been wanting to write about this for two years now, always hoping that Annie would release it properly so that I could encourage you all to pay her money for her wonderful efforts… but alas, it is back on Soundcloud and Annie has made it free for you all to download. So, enjoy the absolutely beautiful, shimmering emotion that is “Christmas Time (Keep It Together),” but please consider buying some of her other incredible music. Musicians are just like you, they don’t sleep in a bed or eat for free. Please remember that.

Bottom Line: A highlight of my 2019 mix (Xmas), this song is a wonderful introduction to Annie Booth, should you not know her already. I trust you will become as big a fan of her as I am.

LISTEN