Herr Wade – Weihnachten​.​.​. Willkommen zur​ü​ck! (2022)

Platiruma!!!
Buy:
Bandcamp (CD/Digital) | Apple Music | Amazon.de MP3 | Amazon.fr MP3

Jørn Åleskjær (The Loch Ness Mouse, Monobird, Sapphire & Steel) and Sebastian Voss (Nah…, The Fisherman and his Soul, Cinema Engines) have teamed up for some cross-cultural, Google-translatable Christmas tunes. I speak ein bisschen Deutsch, and no Norweigain, but I do speak indiepop and this is some lovely stuff. I’ve featured The Fisherman and his Soul multiple times here on Christmas Underground, so I knew there would be something here I was likely to really connect with. Perhaps it is my faint familiarity with the language that draws me to the German-language tracks, but I have to take special note of “Und sie tanzen I’m Himmel,” which translates to “And they dance in the sky.” I’m going to continue to utilize Google translate, so please give me some grace should Google screw it up a bit – but I loved these sweet lyrics.

can you remember?
It’s been a few years…
We looked up at the sky and
Then you said to me:

“I know a secret
And I’m happy to let you in on it.”
And I nodded, agreed, and suddenly it started snowing.

“Exactly! Here, that’s the point.” You said in a low voice.
“Every single flake is a little dancer.
And up there in the sky they dance day in and day out. And when they feel like it, it starts to snow.”

And they dance in the sky

The track also had that mid-tempo, jangly indiepop groove that I need at least every 3-6 months to survive, so that certainly plays into my love of this track as well. There are wonderful moments in the other songs as well, little choices like the beautiful banjo in “Domino,” and the sweetness of the leadoff track, “You’ve Come A Very Long Way (For Being Such A Close Friend),” are undeniable.

Bottom Line: There is a lot to love in a tiny little EP.

LISTEN

The Fisherman and His Soul (featuring The Radio Field) “Santa’s Bat” (2021)

Platiruma!!!
Buy:
Bandcamp (NYOP)

Münster, Germany’s The Fisherman and His Soul is back with his yearly Christmas single, and this one is a Lemonheads-esque jam! Teaming with Düsseldorf’s The Radio Field to provide that booster of jangly 90’s-era college rock, this track has placed me in my freshman dorm room with my buddy Phil. The layered instrumentation, the tiny touches of brass (either real or sampled), and that driving beat… sign me up. And since they have offered, I will use the fridge, but I might be hiding some beer.

Bottom Line: The Fisherman and His Soul NEVER write a boring Christmas song. Last year’s was about a wasp (and a plague, but that USED to be weird…)!

LISTEN

The Fisherman and his Soul “Christmas Tree Bright As A Lighthouse” (2019)

The Fisherman and his Soul - A Christmas Tree Bright as a Lighthouse

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

I love pretty things. I hate pretty things. I find no contradiction in this. I can be both blown away by an amazing voice, and find another one boring as fuck. There is no rhyme or reason to what captures my ear, and Münster, Germany’s The Fisherman and his Soul are proof-positive of that. I am delighted by this song. I find his voice both unimpressive and perfect. “Christmas Tree Bright as a Lighthouse” is glorious indiepop, paired with dense lyrics that require the steady hands of a surgeon to dissect; A fascinating nut of a song that entices you to take a crack at it. But truly, I also love the visual of that title. I can picture that tree… and it makes me smile.

Bottom Line: I honestly don’t know who I would recommend this track to, but I’m pretty positive that some of you will feel the same way.

LISTEN