Tag: Skiing

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Have Yourself a Merry Indie Christmas (Volume IV) (2024)

A Benefit for Crisis
Buy: Bandcamp

Today is the day. The fourth and final (…you never know for suuuuurrre) volume of this magnum opus of alternative Christmas music has dropped with a whopping 65 songs. Amongst these 65 songs, you’ll find many names that I’ve championed on an occasion or two (Whyte Horses, Dark Horses – ha! – The Photocopies, Skiing, Aux Caroling, and many more) – but unless you’ve been reading this silly blog since 2012, you likely haven’t come across many of these songs. If you have been close-reading this blog, you might even take special notice that Applennium’s “Is this Christmas” is on the tracklist. Not only is this a great track for that imaginary shoegaze/dreampop Christmas mix someone out there is making, but this is the first time one could get an actual FLAC of this song. I honestly had forgotten how great that song was.

This record is a fantastic afternoon listen, one that may very well get you in the spirit enough to finally put up your tree, finish your mix, or dig a bit deeper into that band whose song has just made you hit the back button to listen again. For a quick £7/$8.50, you’re that much closer to indie-Christmas nirvana. That, and ALL proceeds go to  Crisis at Christmas, a UK charity supporting people experiencing homelessness. Sounds like an easy call folks.

Bottom Line: If this is the first you’ve heard of this series – there are 4 of them, totaling 208 songs. They are required listening if you are at all interested in this alternative Christmas music. Now go! Listen!

LISTEN

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Everett Darling “Pictures 1-3” (2021)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

There will be those days that I throw big ol’ softballs – songs that I’ve already, in one way or another, expressed my love for previously. In this case, Everett Darling’s “Pictures 1-3” was featured on last year’s mix, but never featured on this site. Today, we remedy that. Everett Darling was the primary songwriter and singer of the excellent German indiepop band Skiing, who have featured prominently on this blog in the past. There are two tracks on his first solo record, Winter, that could be considered Christmas-adjacent. “Pictures 1-3” is obviously one, as well as the instrumental, “Tinsel,” but I’ll leave that to you to hunt down. “Pictures 1-3” is a beautiful song about Everett’s father and the Christmas tree he bought in his last year of life. He cycles through 3 photos of him, describing each one, with the Christmas tree remaining in the background… stuck on demo mode and cycling through its programmed display settings. The song’s stripped-down, 2 guitars and vocals approach, conveys a warmth that I am struggling to describe… Truly touching, absolutely gorgeous, and highly recommended.

Bottom Line: I learned my lesson in 2021 when I originally missed this release… check in with Everett every year just in case… he is just so damn talented.

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Twaague Records’ Christmas Tape (2015)

Christmas Tape

Twaague Records
Buy: Bandcamp

I know everyone is all about the NEW NEW NEW songs… throw a “2015” after a song and nobody wants to retweet it. BUT, when nearly all the seasonal releases come out in a month’s time, you are bound to miss some great stuff. Berlin-based Twaague Records‘ Christmas Tape was one of those misses… released on December 12 of last year, this release certainly suffered from missing the “christmas” tag on Bandcamp, which made it nearly invisible to my search. (Bandcamp really needs to up their game on search – they limit results and don’t let you combine tags…) This was the tape that led me to Skiing! This was the tape that led me to Hanemoon! And this is the tape that will make you love Milwalkie. Get comfortable, I’m going to cover my personal highlights of this excellent release.

The tape leads off with “26th December,” originally appearing on Skiing’s excellent Generous Fire EP. Its anti-consumerism rhetoric is comfortable terrain for me, and the punk rock aesthetic is invigorating. A very strong start.

Colorado’s Kissing Party is no stranger to Christmas songs – they have 2 featured on their Bandcamp as I type this review. “Merry Christmas Darling (Maybe Next Year Things will Change)” was originally released as their 2014 single, and it remains a great indiepop downer.

Berlin’s Milwalkie contributes one of my favorite tracks on this release with “This Year (All I Want is You).” From what I understand, this begins a string of tracks exclusive to this release. What they might call cheesy (and they do), I call simple and nearly perfect. Playful and nostalgic, this song hits all the marks without getting too sweet; A wonderful, perfectly seasoned (pun!) Christmas tune.

Who would have expected Berlin to be a hotbed of amazing indie Christmas songs? My head has been stuck searching in London for years… should have been looking here! Berlin’s Man Behind Tree channel 90’s-era Merge Records indie rock and blends their jangly guitars, dark lyrics and understated vocals into a fantastic Christmas song, “I Was Santa Claus.”

Hanemoon, who we featured a week or so ago with his 2013 gem, has blessed us with the equally wonderful “My Bell Ride.” This is a driving indie rock Christmas song that I could imagine Yo La Tengo (or my much beloved Mendoza Line) just ripping shit up with; It has the kind of frayed edges that I am such a sucker for.

Strand Child (also from… Berlin!) contribute their dark electro-pop “Yer Feet.” Is this a Christmas song? No idea! But I like it. “I was drunk when I met you / I was drunk when you walked out the door.” It may take place during Christmas… as might the equally non-Christmas specific “F&f” by Berlin’s Mother of the Unicorn. They are a bit less confusing on their Facebook than Strand Child, as they address their song as “not so Christmassy really, but it is a bit sentimental, so that’s the same thing right?” They are tapping into the same deep emotional well as The National… which I consider a high compliment and comparison.

Finally, Farfara’s instrumental “Flying Pan” is also damn good. Again, it suffers by not having an explicit nod to Christmas, but overall a great track that, depending on your own personal mix rules, might still qualify for consideration. At the very least, this track proves them to be an excellent band, worthy of further listening.

Overall this release is extremely strong, and with few exceptions, immensely listenable and wholly enjoyable. I would consider 3-4 of these songs for my own personal mix, which is like scoring a hat trick… very, very hard to do on a Christmas compilation. Tapes are still available via their Bandcamp, as well a digital downloads for a very respectable €5!

Bottom Line: Berlin is just killing it right now. One of the strongest compilations of 2015, easy.

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Skiing – Holly (2013)

Skiiing "Holly"

Self-Released/Späti Palace
Buy: Bandcamp

On day two of my Skiing trip, we visit 2013’s Holly. Upon initial discovery, I nearly flipped out and thought the entire record was Christmas… but alas, I’m only going to point to two… two stellar tracks on this overall fantastic release. Let’s begin with “Skiing,” the eponymous second track on the album. Here, skiing is used as a metaphor for life, blazing paths and picking up (and staying with) friends. While this is not explicitly a Christmas or winter song, the imagery and the nostalgia evoked by looking to the past and relying on your friends certainly brings out the spirit. Similarly, the title track “Holly” is another metaphor song, this time for a false friend. However, the dressing of this song in this Ilex opens the door to a seasonal attachment – to use this particular metaphor (to me) grounds the time period the song takes place in as the holiday season. I know, I know… maybe a bit of a stretch on these two… but I’m flexible. I just like this band too damn much to talk myself out of this post.

If you are interested in picking up any of these Skiing releases, they are often only print runs of 100 or so… so if you are like me and like a physical copy of a disc/cassette, you’ll grab them sooner than later. Of note… Holly appears to be gone, gone, gone.

Bottom Line: Did you enjoy my attempts at Christmas-mix gymnastics? If you did or didn’t, I hope you join me in just enjoying the hell out of this band.

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Skiing – Generous Fire E.P. (2013)

Skiing Generous Fire E.P.

Self-Released
Buy: Free!

Skiing have just popped onto my radar… in an absolutely massive way. This will be the first, of a few, posts about this superb band from Berlin. Frankly, I’ve only held out posting about this band until I could pick up a few releases that I knew would be hard to get after the massive interest generated by this powerful, taste-making blog. Comprised of “Everett Darling and his current, future, and ex-friends, family, and lovers,” Skiing have been releasing superb “post-adult contemporary” indiepop/rock since 2012, and how I do love those descriptors. They exude this wonderful, sophisticated sense of humor, which is one of many reasons why Skiing is such a pleasure. The Generous Fire E.P., released in 2013 as a Christmas present to the fans, is a hot 3-track E.P. with a loose connection to the Christmas holiday. While only one specifically name checks-Christmas, I see all the songs as taking place during the season.  From the aggressive DIY decorating of “Interior Design,” to a clever play on words and the disposability of Christmas presents in “26th December,” and finally the dark side of generosity in “On Me,” Skiing has created a wickedly short and concise piece of consumerism criticism that belongs at any slightly grumpy (me!) Christmas table.

Bottom Line: With each song coming in under 2:00, this fun-sized E.P. will start your anti-holiday season off with a bang! And what do you know… it’s free (obviously!).

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