Tag: UK

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Autocamper “I’m in a Caravan (and it’s Christmas)” (2024)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp (Mini-CD)

I don’t have much time (this is going to be a theme today). Indiepop funtimes with Manchester’s Autocamper. This song cannot (and I believe… will not) be streamed anywhere… so I can’t tell you whether it is good or not… but I’m guessing it is going to be good, because I bought one. NOW, how can you buy & listen to “I’m in a Caravan (and it’s Christmas)?” Well, you have to buy one blind and own a tray or top-loading CD player – don’t try to put them in a vacuum-loading one!!

Edit: Well shoot… I somehow read their listing initially as being released on Minidisc… not a Mini CD. Sorry about that! Sorry for the trouble I’ve caused for the band 😦

Bottom Line: Who knows?!?! I bet it is good!

LISTEN – Here’s what the band sounds like with a non-seasonal song

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ROE “Christmas Once Again” (2024)

Self Released
Buy: Juno (WAV/FLAC/MP3) | Apple Music | Amazon MP3 | Amazon.uk MP3

ROE is an alt-pop weirdo from Northern Ireland and her wonderful first step into the world of alt-xmas has me feeling some great 90s vibes. I’m struggling to find the touchpoint I want – it nearly comes to me, then I lose it. Perhaps one of my five readers (I love you all!) will be able to pin it down… anyway, let’s focus. I love the vocal melody – it moves all over, with these changes of pace that are just damn pleasing. It is explicitly a Christmas song but doesn’t fall into any of those trite, predictable Christmas buckets that I hear so, so very often. Give it a listen, won’t you?

Bottom Line: From one weirdo (me) to another (you, the reader), you should listen to this weirdo.

LISTEN

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King Hannah “Blue Christmas” (2024)

City Slang
Buy: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Amazon MP3 | Amazon.uk MP3 | Amazon.de MP3

I do not get excited for covers of “Blue Christmas.” I have heard a million versions… and rarely do I enjoy them. Liverpool duo King Hannah has somehow done it. Simply said, their voices sell it for me… how well they meld, how nicely they part, the warmth of their tone. Take away one of them from the mix, and the song is just another song. Definitely check out their non-seasonal music, which is damn good and might just distract you from working on your Christmas mix.

Dammit. Back to work.

Bottom Line: One of the nicest versions of a boring song I’ve heard in a long time. That sounds like a backhanded compliment, but truly, this is a great version… you’re just talking to someone who has heard this song too many times 🙂

LISTEN

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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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BumbleWasps “Don’t Fuck with Christmas” (2024)

Self Released
Buy: Bandcamp

I’m attempting to take my mind off the election by listening to Christmas music this evening. So when I popped over to Bandcamp… seeing a familiar face was fucking great. Shrewsbury, England’s BumbleWasps is back with his wonderful brand of cheeky bedroom pop, serving up perhaps his sweetest Christmas song yet. “Don’t Fuck with Christmas” is indeed a rather aggressive title, but in practice, it hopes to make the most of Christmas… you only get one day each year, so don’t let the pressure of the holiday fuck you up. The song itself is damn catchy – an earworm that you can’t sing in polite company. Earworm… mantra… two sides of the same coin, both useful distractions from reality.

Don’t fuck with Christmas.
Don’t fuck with Christmas.
Don’t fuck with Christmas.

I feel a bit better.

Bottom Line: BumbleWasps has what many don’t – a consistently original POV on Christmas music, and this may be the best one yet.

LISTEN

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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.

LISTEN

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Litany “Die Hard (Is a Christmas Film)” (2022)

Self Released
Buy: Apple Music | Amazon MP3 | Amazon.uk MP3 | Amazon.de MP3 | Amazon.fr MP3

Back in 2020, Christmas a Go Go highlighted the vast amount of Christmas songs that tackle the subject of whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not. CAGG even updated the post last year to reflect new additions to the canon (still dated 2020 though!). I thought one of the songs on that massive list deserved a little bit more attention – and here we are. Litany is an alternative pop artist from England (and just signed to Nettwerk as of this week) whose 2022′ “Die Hard (Is a Christmas Film)” with an earworm chorus that will torment you for the rest of the holiday season. It is a fun torment though… strolling down the street singing “yippee, ki yay motherfucker.”

Bottom Line: A new addition to the top tier of Die Hard/Christmas classics.

LISTEN

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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!

LISTEN

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Neil Brogan & Band “Our First Christmas” (2023)

Brogan Records
Buy: Bandcamp

I’m curious… can we consider this whole Neil Brogan writing a fantastic Christmas song a tradition? No pressure, Neil, but I’m in favor of this. After last year’s stone-cold classic, “christmas with a small c,” Neil returns with the touching “Our First Christmas.” The song is a touching stroll through that special feeling you have towards the first Christmas with a loved one. Neil’s voice is really the selling point of this song, soft and emotive – that “ya know” he sings, somehow makes this song feel more deeply personal than a song usually can – like someone is talking just to you. Simple and beautiful.

Bottom Line: Following up one of my favorite songs of the past 5 years was a tough bar to clear, but Neil decided to stroll around it with a lovely, wholly different, and touching song.

LISTEN

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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.

LISTEN