Maurizio e Dandolo: Natale In Tangenziale / Highway Dub
(Mirella Records, MIR001, Italy/The Netherlands, 2023)
There haven't been many Italo-disco Christmas singles. But in 2023, the duo of Maurizio e Dandolo added a 7" to the Italo-disco discography. Maurizio e Dandolo are Italian producers and DJs Cosimo Mandorino and Marcello Giordani. Cosimo Mandorino is not only a producer and DJ, but also a record collector with, as his biography says, an almost archaeological passion for record crate digging. I feel a connection right away. Mandorino was also one of the founders of the Slow Motion Project in 2005, a project that led to Slow Motion Records and several sublabels. He has released music as Cosmo and Malkuth, many of them in collaboration with Francisco (Francesco de Bellis), and is part of the disco/funk duo CH.OP. (Channel Operators), with Raffaele Arcella being the other half of the duo. CH.OP. released their debut full-length 'Fantasy' earlier this year. Marcello Giordani is a DJ and producer who started his career in 1992, is the founder of Italo Deviance Records and has released music as Arredo, DJ M.G., Italo Deviance, Marcello Jordany and Marcelo. He is also part of several duos: Areavip (with Francesco Mantovani), Life Of Marvin, Marvin & Guy (both with Alessandro Parlatore) and Supersonic Lovers (with Luca Roccatagliati).
Natale In Tangenziale' ('Christmas On The Freeway') is the first release by the two Italian producers as Maurizio e Dandolo. They wrote and arranged the song together, but as Cosmo is listed as executive producer and he provided both lead vocals and keyboards, he seems to be the man in charge. The song is mixed by Arcella, his partner in CH.OP., who also remixed the song into a five-minute instrumental dub version on the B-side under the name Whodamanny. Monica Sanova sings backing vocals, while Peter Columbo plays electric guitar on the original version of the song.
'Natale In Tangenziale' starts with some church bells, but after that it's the typical 1980s Italo disco keyboard sound that takes over. In the song, Cosmo sings about how his girlfriend left a day early to go home from Bologna to Cerignola, without really explaining to him why she had to leave a day early. He's not looking forward to the traffic on the highway to Cerignola (he calls it a 'traffico d'inferno', which doesn't need to be translated; it probably sounds familiar to anyone who's experienced Italian traffic), but the thought of the 'paradiso' he'll find together with his girlfriend makes it all worthwhile. Unfortunately, the 'paradiso' turns out to be the 'inferno'. He runs out of gas and parks near a motel. And guess who he sees there, kissing a man, in a car (a sedan to be exact)... his girlfriend. So no happy Christmas for Maurizio and Dandolo.
The single was released on Mirella Records, in two versions - one for Italian distribution and one for distribution in the Netherlands. The record comes with a white Christmas tree car hanger/air freshener, just like the one that is on the front cover. It has the name Maurizio e Dandalo printed on one side and Mirella's name on the other.
Mike Watt + The Bobblymen: Surfin’ With The Claus / The Wassail Song
(Red Parakeet Records, RP003, USA, 223)
How do you turn an existing instrumental non-Christmas song into a Christmas song? It's easy. Just add sleigh bells and the melodies of some well-known Christmas songs, and there you have it: a real Christmas song. Take, for example, 'Surfin' With The Shah', from the 1978 debut EP by Los Angeles parody punk band Urinals. A song that has nothing to do with Christmas. Until Mike Watt + The Bobblymen decided to record it and turn it into a Christmas song. Over the years, Watt had performed 'Surfin' With The Shah' live with his backing band The Missingmen. He went into the studio with one of his current backing bands, The Bobblymen, featuring Bob Lee (Crawlspace, Crawlhammer and many other bands) on drums, Pete Mazich (also in The Missingmen) on organ and Tom Watson (Slovenly, Red Krayola and also a member of The Missingmen) on guitar, added sleigh bells to 'Surfin' With The Shah', Mazich played the melodies of well-known Christmas songs like 'Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer', 'Deck The Halls' and 'Silent Night' and they retitled the song 'Surfin' With The Claus'. And yes, they had recorded a real Christmas song, the perfect A-side of a Christmas single.
For the B-side, the group decided to record 'The Wassail Song', a traditional carol and New Year's song from the English county of Gloucestershire. The Wassail Song' dates back to at least the 18th century, but is probably older. The lyrics now commonly used are those first recorded in the Oxford Book of Carols in 1928 by one of the book's three authors, Ralph Vaughan Williams. The tune to which the lyrics are sung is thought to be at least several centuries old. The song was sung during wassailing, traditionally on the twelfth day of Christmas, when people go from door to door singing and offering a drink from the wassail bowl in exchange for gifts. The roots of the wassailing ritual date back to the Middle Ages, when feudal lords gave peasants food and gifts in exchange for blessings and good wishes. To give the song a more authentic sound, the group is joined by Tim Kerr (formerly of the punk band Big Boys, among others) on accordion, Vince Meghrouni (ex-El Grupo Sexo and ex-Bazooka) on flute, piccolo flute and percussion, and Aoshi and Ljiljana (former singer of the Croatian band Magazin and Mazich's wife) on additional backing vocals.
Bandleader Mike Watt is considered one of the best bass players in the world. He was part of the Minutemen, one of the first hardcore punk bands to mix punk with jazz and funk. After the tragic death of his friend and bandmate D. Boon in a car accident in late 1985, he formed Firehose in 1986 with Minutemen drummer George Hurley and Minutemen fan Ed Crawford, while also playing in the duo dos with former Black Flag bassist Kiera Roessler. Throughout his musical career, Watt has been a part of so many bands and projects that he deserves a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Watt has played on records by artists as diverse as Sonic Youth and Kelly Clarkson, and was part of the reformed Stooges from 2003 to 2016, replacing the late original bassist Dave Alexander.
To illustrate how active Watt is. In 2023 he released an album with Samuel Locke Ward on Kill Rock Stars, a live album with Charles Plymell on Feeding Tube Records, a split 7" as Mike Watt And The Secondmissingmen with Up Around The Sun on Red Parakeet, an album as part of the long distance band Spirit Of Hamlet on Broken Sound Tapes, as bassist on Tim Holehouse's 'Zen' album, a Record Store Day split 7" with Larry Mullins, 'TV Eye' on ORG Music and, as part of Il Sogno Del Marinaio, the 7" 'A Tribute To Miles Copper Seaton', also on Red Parakeet. And I will probably forget some projects. Surfin' With The Claus' was also released on Red Parakeet on three different colors of vinyl: 500 copies on black, 250 copies on white, 250 copies on green.
Angelo Starr: Another Lonely Christmas (At The Motor City) / Back In The Middle Of A Broken Heart
(Motorcity / Sonic Wax Records, 4506, UK, 2023)
Last year Angelo Starr released a digital Christmas single on Motorcity Records, 'Another Lonely Christmas (In The Motor City)'. Usually soul songs about a lonely Christmas are ballads or downtempo songs. But not 'A Lonely Christmas (In The Motor City)', a song aimed at the Northern Soul dance floor. Motorcity Records is a British label run by Ian Levine, a label with one purpose: to recreate the sound of the Motown releases of the 1960s. If possible, by releasing new songs by former Motown artists. Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, The Marvelettes and Edwin Starr are among the former Motown artists who have recorded for Motorcity Records. Angelo Starr never recorded for Motown, but his brother did. Angelo is the brother of the late Edwin Starr. So there is still a clear connection to Motown. Motorcity had fallen on hard times in the late 1990s, but was relaunched on a smaller scale in 2007.
Motorcity's own Ian Levine was one of the four men who wrote and produced 'Another Lonely Christmas (In The Motor City)'. Levine has had a long and illustrious career as a collector of Motown and Northern Soul records and as a DJ in Blackpool and Stoke-On-Trent, playing a major role in changing the focus of the Blackpool clubs from oldies to modern Northern Soul inspired records. He became a producer, working in both the USA and England, and was responsible for some of the biggest hi-nRG hits, including Miquel Brown's 1983 UK #2 hit 'So Many Men, So Little Time' and Evelyn Thomas' 1984 dance hit 'High Energy'. A huge Doctor Who fan, in 1985 he recorded 'Doctors In Distress' with Who Cares?, a charity and protest record in one, featuring several Doctor Who cast members, Colin Baker (the Sixth Doctor), Nicola Bryant (his travelling companion Peri), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart) and Anthony Ainley (the Master), plus members of the Moody Blues, Bucks Fizz, Matt Bianco, Tight Fit, Time UK and even Jona Lewie, among others. Organized and recorded in just a few weeks, the record was a protest against the BBC's decision to suspend production of new Doctor Who episodes for 18 months. Later, Levine also co-produced some of Take That's early hit singles (such as "A Million Love Songs" and "Could It Be Magic"). This Angelo Starr single was the first time in Levine's 48-year career that he was involved in the production and writing of a Christmas song.
Levine co-wrote and co-produced Another Lonely Christmas (In The Motor City) with Starr, Lee Jeffries and Matt Early. Jeffries and Early are both involved in the soul label Sonic Wax Records and the pressing plant Sonic Wax Pressings, as managing director and engineer respectively. They also record soul and soulful house as the duo Matt Early & Lee Jeffries. ‘A Lonely Christmas (In The Motor City)’ is sung from the perspective of someone who is alone at Christmas, but first and foremost it is a song of hope. Hope that next Christmas there will be someone to celebrate Christmas with. “Cause I've been so, so, so, so good / I've been patient and I've waited / And waited, baby / So the question that I have for you is / When the daylight comes / And the snowflakes fall / Will I find love after all / Or will I still be all alone.” The answer comes at the end of the song and is a loud and clear “No no this time beneath my / Christmas tree / Thank you Santa woo! / For bringing my baby / Back to me”.
When Edwin Starr died in 2003, Angelo, who was already involved with his backing band The Team, became the group's new frontman. His vocal style was similar to his brother's, which you can hear on 'Another Lonely Christmas (At The Motor City)'. With horns, church bells and hand claps, it sounds like the perfect Northern Soul Christmas song, a real floor filler. So it's a good thing that Sonic Wax Records pressed the song on a 7" single this year, because that's how Northern Soul should be played at a Northern Soul party: from a 7" single. Only 50 copies are available, so if you want to get one, you better hurry.
T.Love: To Chyba Miłość Jest / To Chyba Miłość Jest (Instrumental)
(Polydor, 588 252 0, Poland, 2023)
Movies and Christmas music have always been interconnected. Sometimes a Christmas classic was written for the soundtrack of a movie. It could be a Christmas movie, like Home Alone 2 (‘All Alone At Christmas’) or even a non-Christmas movie, like Meet Me In St. Louis (‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’). And sometimes a song inspired the filming of a movie named after it (like the 1954 movie White Christmas). All these examples are from the USA. But also in other countries, Christmas themed movies are filmed, and come with songs especially written for the film. This year, a new Christmas comedy was released in Poland, Uwierz w Mikołaja (Believe in Santa Claus). Thematically, it is similar to the British Christmas classic Love Actually, with several storylines about different people interwoven into the film, which is set around Christmas time, with love connecting all the stories.
To promote the film, the Polish rock band T.Love released the single ‘To Chyba Miłość Jest’ (‘I Think It's Love’). With a name like T.Love, it was the perfect choice to record the theme song for a movie about love. T.Love was first formed as Teenage Love Alternative in the Polish town of Częstochowa in 1982, more than 40 years ago, when Poland was still part of the communist bloc. Initially inspired by punk rock, they later incorporated other influences into their music, such as reggae, rock & roll, glam rock and pop rock. Vocalist Zygmunt "Muniek" Staszczyk is the only member left from those early days. In 2017 the band disbanded, but five years later T.Love came back with four members who were also part of the band in the early 1990s: guitarists Jan Benedik and Jacek "Perkoz" Perkowski, bassist Paweł Nazimek and drummer Sidney Polak. ‘To Chyba Miłość Jest’ was written by Muniek (lyrics) and Benedik (music).
The song was accompanied by a video featuring many short scenes from the movie. It was also released as a 7" vinyl single on translucent red vinyl, with an instrumental version of the song on the B-side. Like the movie, the lyrics revolve around love. They are full of imagery, comparing love to all kinds of things. I couldn't put it better than the promo: “'I Think It's Love is' warms you up like a winter tea and a wool blanket. This song is an anthem in honor of love in all its facets - both the sweet and the less cheerful. Besides, there is no denying that long winter evenings and the atmosphere of the holidays are more conducive to showing love to each other than any Valentine's Day. As Muniek sings - "When it snows, you cuddle like a baby"”. These lines in the chorus are also the only reference to Christmas or winter in the song.
Even if you don't understand the Polish language, you will easily recognize ‘To Chyba Miłość Jest’ as a Christmas song. Not only because of the church bells that ring throughout the song, but also because it has just the right mix of melancholy and joyful spirit associated with Christmas, while Muniek's voice is also perfectly suited for a Christmas song. And the cute artwork of the sleeve leaves no doubt that this is indeed a Christmas single.
Watch the video on Youtube:
If you want to order a copy, you can do so through Gandalf, as they also ship outside of Poland.
Double Cream: Christmas On The Moon / Steal Away (On Christmas Day)
(Electrosaurus Records, ELEC17, The Netherlands, 2023)
In 2017, Pablo van de Poel, guitarist and singer for the Dutch psychedelic blues-rock band DeWolff, produced the debut album of the Southern rock-influenced Dawn Brothers, another Dutch band from the city of Rotterdam. Van de Poel and Dawn Brothers singer and guitarist Bas Holt discovered a mutual love for 1960s soul. They agreed that one day they would write and record some songs in the style of Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Ray Charles and The Coasters, just for fun. In 2021 they met for the first time and in five sessions wrote and recorded an album which they released under the name Double Cream. Each session consisted of one day of writing, one day of recording (live to analog tape), and one day of mixing. Band members of DeWolff and the Dawn Brothers helped record the songs. A horn section gave it an even more 1960s soul feel. 'Double Cream' was released in late 2022 and was well received. The major Dutch music magazine OOR described the album as "a record bursting with joy of playing and excellent songs. Recorded analog with horns and all, they betray a flawless feel for the go-to melodies, vocal lines and song themes of the time".
For a long time, Dawn Brothers had been toying with the idea to write and record a Christmas song, and Double Cream seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally put this idea into practice. Dawn Brothers keyboard player Rowan De Vos and bassist Tammo Deuling wrote the song, ‘Christmas On The Moon’, inspired by the Space Age. Not only for its lyrical inspiration, but also for the music, 'Christmas On The Moon' went back further in time than the 1960s, adding swing and jump blues to the mix. Helped by a 4-man strong horn section of baritone saxophone (Nick Feenstra), tenor saxophone (Paul Van De Calseijde), trombone (Isaac McCluskey) and trumpet (Lauran Neerincx). Van de Poel and Van Holt wrote the song for the B-side of the single, 'Steal Away (On Christmas Day)', and they stayed closer to the 1960s soul that inspired Double Cream in the first place, both musically (with adding a glockenspiel, bells, a Wurlitzer and a small horn section of just tenor saxophone and flugelhorn to the basic guitar-bass-drum line-up) but also lyrically. ‘Steal Away (On Christmas Day)’ was a song about being alone at Christmas ('my baby left me all alone / my best friend won't pick up the phone'), as many Christmas soul songs were. Just like the album had been, both songs were recorded live to analog tape in Van de Poel’s Electrosaurus Southern Sound Studio in Maastricht, in the south of The Netherlands and just like the album, the two songs on the single are “bursting with joy of playing”.
‘Christmas On The Moon’ on Youtube:
‘Steal Away (On Christmas Day)’ on Youtube:
In 2022, Disney film star Sabrina Carpenter released her fifth album, ‘Emails I Can't Send’, the first album for her new label, Island. Her previous four albums had been released on the Disney-affiliated Hollywood label. The 2021 single ‘Skin Deep’ was her first release for Island and also her first Billboard Hot 100 entry. The single peaked at number 45. Her second chart hit was the fifth single from Emails I Can't Send, a song called ‘Nonsense’, which Carpenter co-wrote with songwriters Julian Bunetta (The X-Factor, One Direction) and Steph Jones (Nickelback, Selena Gomez, Keith Urban). Carpenter performed the song during her 2022 Emails I Can't Send-tour, changing the ending of the song to fit the city she was performing in. This helped ‘Nonsense’ go viral on the social media platform TikTok. This, along with the song's popularity with Carpenter's fans, led to the song being chosen as a single. ‘Nonsense' peaked at number 56 on the Billboard charts and number 32 on the UK Singles Chart. It became Carpenter's biggest hit in Australia (#22) and New Zealand (#31).
The single was released on November 14, 2022, and entered the Bubbling Under Hot 100 the day before Christmas. On December 7, a holiday version of the song was released, called ‘A Nonsense Christmas’, with the lyrics changed to refer to the Christmas season. The lyrics of the original version contained some sexual innuendo, and ‘A Nonsense Christmas’ was even more so. According to Billboard, Carpenter “changed the silly lyrics to take on a more festive, flirtatious spin”. “You're my wish list / Lookin' at you got me thinkin' Christmas / Snowflakes in my stomach when we're kissin' / And when you're comin' down the chimney, ooh, it feels so good”. You get the idea.
In November 2023, lifestyle retailer Urban Outfitters released both versions of the song on a limited edition 7", sold exclusively through the company. The 3,000 copies were easily sold, making it the best-selling Christmas 7" single of 2023. Although it is debatable whether a single with the Christmas song on the B-side should be considered a Christmas single. Reviews compared Carpenter on ‘Nonsense’ to Ariane Grande, meaning that the song had an R&B-infused pop sound with, according to the album review of ‘Emails I Can't Send’ in The Indiependent, “raspy-to-silky smooth vocals that attest to the singer's extreme versatility”. The image on the front of the sleeve (the regular side) and the back of the sleeve (the holiday side) was the same, except that Carpenter's cap was replaced with a Santa hat.
Cosmic Shuffling: Xmas Ska / Xmas Horns
(Fruits Records / Liquidator Music, LQ159 / FTR057, Switzerland / Spain, 2023)
vUsually, the Chicago label Jump Up! Records usually provides a dose of ska, rocksteady or reggae on 7" around Christmas, but unfortunately not in 2023. Fortunately, Swiss and Spanish labels Fruits Records and Liquidator Music have stepped in to fill the gap. Together they released the Christmas single ‘Xmas Ska’ by Cosmic Shuffling from Geneva, Switzerland, so we can also skank around the Christmas tree in 2023. ‘Xmas Ska’ is an upbeat tune in which Cosmic Shuffling's regular horn section trombonist Anthony Dietrich Buclin and alto saxophonist Basile Rickli are joined by four trumpeters, two tenor saxophonists and another trombonist. The instrumental version of the song, ‘Xmas Horns’ on the B-side, gives the horns ample opportunity to solo. ‘Xmas Ska’ describes the "one night in the wintertime" when "everyone seems so fine" and "grown ups and little ones use their tongues and lungs to sing a happy melody”. And even if the kids didn't quite do what they were supposed to last year, they needn't worry, because Cosmic Shuffling's ska will chase the boogeyman away, the band assures us. And finally, a ska/reggae band that sings about snow at Christmas and knows what they're talking about...
Lenny Kaye / Cedar Sparks: Santa’s Knee / Gathering Song
(La Société Expéditionnaire, LSE 050, US, 2023)
You see them everywhere around Christmas time, especially in shopping malls in the United States. A few songs have been written about people like them. But if you listen to songs like 'Father Christmas' by The Kinks or 'Department Store Santa Claus' by Howard Morris, their lives are not as jolly as the man they impersonate. In the songs by The Kinks and Howard Morris, it is the children who make the department store Santa's life difficult. Lenny Kaye's 'Santa's Knee', released this year on a 7", is more thoughtful. Kaye's Santa does his job with determination, promising the children who sit on his knee that Santa will get them the present they want: "I'll try to make all your wishes come true / That's the spirit of Christmas that I give to you". But this Santa is not judgmental: "If they're good or bad it's not for me to say / I believe all God's creatures should have their own way". Then, when his day's work is done, he returns to "a quiet room where no one is around". No mistletoe to kiss, no presents. On Christmas Eve, he drinks too much, hangs up his stocking, "and hope St. Nick arrives / Bringing magic and wonder to brighten my life".
Lenny Kaye's song hits all the right notes when it comes to expressing the sadness of Christmas loneliness. A loneliness that can affect anyone, even that jolly Santa Claus you meet on the street. Kaye, best known as the guitarist in the Patti Smith Group and as the man behind the original and very influential Nuggets compilation of 1960s American garage rock, sings the song like a storyteller, accompanied by Tim Carbone (Railroad Earth) on a melancholy sounding violin and keyboards, Julian Rogai on double bass and Lou Rogai (Lewis & Clarke) on drums and organ, while Brian Curry of the Cold Weather Company yodels in the background.
Carbone and the Rogais are also featured on the B-side, Cedar Spark's 'Gathering Song'. 'Gathering Song' was originally recorded in 2018 and also features Regina Sayles on vocals, Damian Calgagne on organ, keyboards and glockenspiel, and Jeff Barg on drums. Pennsylvania's Cedar Sparks describe their music as dark folk or gothic folk, but I also hear some country rock in 'Gathering Song', which has the same melancholy feel as the A-side: it sounds sad but hopeful at the same time. Cedar Sparks cite the movie 'It's A Wonderful Life' as an inspiration for their song, and it shows. 'Gathering Song' points out that even if you feel like a failure sometimes, you should remember that "each man's life touches so many lives / It's the love in the hand that he lends". Beautiful words, and singing along with the chorus, alone or with your friends, will make you feel alive and optimistic again. Even if you are a lonely department store Santa Claus.
The eleven and a half minute single was released by Lou Rogai's label La Société Expéditionnaire for Record Store Black Friday in three variants: clear red vinyl, clear red with swirl and the Rough Trade exclusive on green vinyl. A total of 1000 copies were pressed and due to the length of the songs the single is played at 33 rpm.
Etiénne Daho: Noël Avec Toi / Noël Avec Toi (Instrumental)
(Barclay / Universal Music France, 586 868 3, France, 2023)
Etiénne Daho's big break came in 1985 with his French #13 synthpop hit "Tombé Pour La France" ("Fallen for France"). Daho went on to become one of France's most successful pop singers, drawing influences from across the musical spectrum, from France Gall to the Velvet Underground, from Serge Gainsbourg to Syd Barrett, and working with artists as diverse as Marianne Faithful, OMD and St. Etienne. He has had three Top 10 hits in France ('Mon Manège À Moi' in 1993, 'Comme Un Boomerang', a duet with Dani, in 2001 and 'Les Flocons De L'Été' in 2017) and most of his albums have been certified gold or platinum.
His latest album 'Tirer La Nuit Sur Les Étoiles' was released in May 2023 and reached the top of the French album charts. In December, Daho released a follow-up album containing remixes and leftover songs from the 'Tirer La Nuit Sur Les Étoiles' sessions. One of these songs was a Christmas song, 'Noël Avec Toi' ('Christmas With You'). Noël Avec Toi' was also released on a red vinyl 7" with a slightly longer instrumental version of the song on the B-side.
Daho co-wrote the song with vocalist and songwriter Jade Vincent and keyboardist, pianist, composer and producer Keefus Ciancia. Together with David Holmes, Vincent and Ciancia form the Los Angeles-born, London-based trio Unloved. Unloved are inspired by classic film scores, electro-acoustic music, and smoky jazz chanteuses, and all of these influences come together on 'Noël Avec Toi'. Daho's voice is the male equivalent of a smoky jazz chanteuse. The music is very atmospheric, at times minimal, just background humming and a bass. A little further into the song, keyboards, electronica and bells create a full cinematic sound.
Noël Avec Toi" is a song of longing, a longing to be with your love. Daho sings about the longing you feel when you are on your way to her (or him), to spend Christmas together, and to know that even if things don't always go smoothly, love is still burning brightly in both of you. A truly beautiful Christmas song.
Sam Russo
Mistletoe Pier: Christmas Under The Pier / Merry Christmas (Baby, I’m Sorry)
(Red Scare, CCCP 253-7, US, 2023)
Sam Russo, from the small English market town of Haverhill, came from the hardcore punk scene, but like other punk rock musicians before him (like Chuck Ragan, Frank Turner and Brian Fallon), he turned to acoustic music. Russo played in the hardcore punk band Tear Down The Cockpit Door (a perfect name for a hardcore punk band, by the way) and started playing acoustic songs on the side. Sam released two demos (one in 2008 and another in 2009), a four-way split album with Chuck Ragan, Jimmy Islip and Helen Chambers, and three full-length albums, all of which were very well received. In 2012, Sam released a one-track Christmas cassette single, "Merry Christmas, Baby I'm Sorry," limited to 50 copies.
And now, eleven years later, after two split 7"'s (an American Tour 7" with Masked Intruder and Elway and a 4-song 7" with Brendan Kelly), Sam releases his first regular two-track 7", and it is a Christmas single called 'Mistletoe Pier'. The A-side is a new song, 'Christmas Under The Pier', the B-side is a reprise of 'Merry Christmas (Baby, I'm Sorry)'. Although I just described Sam as an acoustic singer and songwriter, it is not just one guy with a voice and a guitar that you hear on the single. It sounds like Sam invited some friends to the Christmas party. Although, considering the subject matter of both songs, the single is not the best choice to cheer up your Christmas party.
In "Christmas Under The Pier", Sam turns to his lover, or rather his former lover, after he wakes up on Christmas morning feeling lonely. He takes a drive to the pier and relives all the memories of the beautiful times he spent there with her in the summer. And he wonders where his former lover is now, hoping that she is somewhere under the palm trees, basking in the sun. In Haverhill, the snow is still falling. With a sultry saxophone and a surf guitar, 'Christmas Under The Pier' sounds like a summer song disguised as a Christmas song. Sam's slightly cracked vocals make the song sound extra melancholy.
Although 'Merry Christmas (Baby, I'm Sorry)' was written more than 10 years earlier, it goes very well with 'Christmas Under The Pier'. It sounds like another part of the same story. And it even starts with the sound of waves. Sam sings about how his former lover called him back the day before Christmas, upset because Sam had beaten up her new boyfriend, damaged his car with her high heels, broken into his garage and stolen all his tools. Why? "Because he don't love you like I do." Later, on Christmas Day, Sam admits that he disappointed his girlfriend and made her feel blue, feels sorry and hopes that she forgives him. All he can do is wish her a "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year". The single was released by Chicago's Red Scare, a label with deep roots in the punk scene, in a sleeve that, like the songs on the single, combines summer and Christmas.
There is a seasonal lyric video for ‘Christmas Under The Pier’ on Youtube:
And you can also listen to ‘Merry Christmas (Baby, I’m Sorry)’ on Youtube:
You can get the 7" from the Red Scare website or order it at your local recordshop.
Deary / Three Quarter Skies
Shoegazer Christmas: 2000 Miles / Holy Water
(Sonic Cathedral Recordings, SCR289, UK, 2023)
If ever there was a record label that you would expect to put out a release called "Shoegazer Christmas", it would be Sonic Cathedral Recordings. In 2004, Nathaniel Cramp organized the first Sonic Cathedral club night in London. The so-called 'The Night That Celebrated Itself', was a night entirely dedicated to shoegaze. Shoegaze, the music style pioneered in the 1980s by bands such as The Jesus & Mary Chain, My Blood Valentine, Slowdive and Ride, is a combination of a sonic assault of very loud guitars with lots of effects and feedback, distant vocals, sixties psychedelic pop melodies and musicians who look at their effects pedals on the floor as they play. Which explains the genre's name. In 2006, Nathaniel turned Sonic Cathedral into a record label, releasing singles by The Tamborines, Mark Gardener (frontman of Ride), and Sarabeth Tucek. Later, Sonic Cathedral released records by, among many others, School of Seven Bells, Andy Bell (another Ride member), Dean And Britta, Sad Day For Puppets, The Early Years, Younghusband, bdrmm, Lorelle Meets The Obsolete, and the label even released a live 7" by Slowdive.
Two of the label's latest signings are Deary and Three Quarter Skies. Deary is the London-based duo of Ben Easton and Rebecca 'Dottie' Cockram. Ben and Rebecca describe their music as dream pop. Deary debuted in March of this year with the 10" EP 'Fairground', which featured the title track in three different versions, including a remix by Saint Etienne. In November, they followed up with an untitled six-song 12" EP. Three Quarter Skies released their debut, a 7" song EP, on cassette. Three Quarter Skies is the solo project of Cambridge-based Simon Scott, best known as the drummer of Slowdive, who also released a new album in 2023, the critically acclaimed 'Everything Is Alive'. Deary and Three Quarter Skies both recorded a seasonal song this year, and Sonic Cathedral decided to put them on a 7" and call it 'Shoegazer Christmas'. The half red half white 7" was limited to 300 copies and is long sold out.
Deary do a cover and Three Quarter Skies do an original. Deary take on The Pretenders' '2000 Miles' and prove that they really deserve the label dreampop. The song sounds like it was recorded in another dimension, a dimension you travel to when you sleep. Rebecca's vocals are drenched in echo and the bass, the main instrument in the song, floats in a space filled with ethereal sounds. Three Quarter Skies' original 'Holy Water' is also a Christmas song and features backing vocals by Rachael Swinton, who forms the Glasgow-based Cloth with her twin brother Paul. Holy Water' has the same atmosphere as the Deary song, with subtle rhythms, a guitar and bass that bring to mind the more psychedelic influenced early 80s post-punk bands like Echo & The Bunnymen and The Cure, and again those ethereal sounds that are everywhere.
Listening to the songs, maybe 'Dreampop Christmas' would have been a better title for the single, because if you expect loud and distorted guitars buried in effects and feedback, you will be disappointed. Instead, you can listen to Boris' version of 'Last Christmas', which was released last year (but is even more expensive than this 7", if you want to get a copy). But I think most people who love shoegaze will also like dreampop, so they will love this single. Shoegaze Christmas' comes with a Christmas card signed by Ben, Dottie and Simon. Without a doubt one of my personal favorites of the 2023 Christmas 7" season.
The Delines:
Christmas In Atlantis / Waiting On A Bus Out Of Dallas / San Leandro Lament
(Decor Records / El Cortez Records, DECOR65, USA, 2023)
Family holiday gatherings are the highlight of the season for some, and a horror for others. It all depends on your family members and how well you get along with them. If you're the kind of person who tries to avoid the family Christmas gathering because you don't like your family that much, it's good to know that there are always people who have it worse than you. Just listen to The Delines' 'Christmas In Atlantis'. 'Christmas In Atlantis' was written by the band's guitarist, Willy Vlautin. Before Vlautin formed Portland, Oregon-based The Delines in 2012, he was the singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Portland alternative country band Richmond Fontaine. Vlautin is also a critically acclaimed author, having published his first novel, "The Motel Life," in 2007 and five more novels to date. A film adaptation of 'The Motel Life' was released in 2013 to critical acclaim.
In his books and lyrics, Vlautin focuses on the underbelly of America. Most of his stories take place in western states like Nevada (where he is originally from), Oregon and New Mexico. 'Christmas In Atlantis' fits right into this theme. In the song, singer Amy Boone describes how she and her partner take a taxi to the house where the family holiday party is being held. 'Little Drummer Boy' plays in the background as they exit the taxi. The first thing they see when they enter is an uncle yelling at the TV because his favorite baseball team is losing the game. Wait until you meet the rest of the family. The niece who proudly shows XXX-rated pictures of herself and prefers a porn career to college because she can make a lot more money that way. The cousin who talks about the merits of the KKK and how fascism is misunderstood. Spouses, with in-laws joining in. Sisters arguing over who gets to inherit their mother's jewelry and Tiffany lamp. A nephew who wants to score some drugs, but can't get into town on his moped because of the snow, and asks his grandmother to take him there, but she can't because both of her legs were amputated just last week. Boone talks more than she sings, with a subdued voice, while the music in the background, which includes trumpets and organ, sounds relaxed, in contrast to all the chaos going on at the family reunion.
As soon as UFOs come up, Boone and her partner decide they've had enough and flee to the Atlantis Casino, where they check in for three days. The mood of the song changes as well. The band's country soul sounds more powerful, and Boone trades in her chatty vocals to sing about all the glitz and glamour that surrounds them at the casino. The Delines recorded the track in 2022 for BBC Radio's Gideon Coe Show and have now released it on a 3-track 33 rpm single.
The first track on the B-side is also Christmas-related. 'Waiting On A Bus Out Of Dallas', written by Vlautin, is a vinyl-only track, and it's another little story set to music, as so many of The Delines' songs are. It's about a man waiting for a bus to take him out of Dallas around Christmas time, with only a few clothes for luggage. 'San Landrea Lament', written by the band's keyboardist and trumpeter Cory Gray, is an instrumental track, a nostalgic piano melody that sounds almost neoclassical. The trumpet that joins in halfway through the song gives it a bit of a brass band feel. If Gray had given it a Christmas-related name, like 'Santa Claus Lament', you would have thought it was written as a Christmas song.
The Delines debuted in 2014 with their album "Colfax", an album that received good reviews, with critics praising Vlautin's lyrics and Boone's vulnerable vocals, which very well expressed all the hardships the characters in Vlautin's lyrics had to endure. The band followed up with "Scenic Sessions" (2015, an album they released themselves to sell on their 2015 tour), "The Imperial" (2019), "The Night Always Comes" (2021, a CD that came with one of Vlautin's novels as a soundtrack and was re-released on LP in 2023 as part of Record Store Day), and "The Sea Drift," their most recent effort from last year. Joining Boone and Vlautin on the three tracks on the 7" are the other three current members of The Delines: Cory Gray (keyboards and trumpet), Sean Oldham (percussion) and Freddy Trujillo (bass). The 7" was released on black and green vinyl. The green vinyl version was only available from the band and the label, but is now sold out.
Listen to ‘Christmas In Atlantis’ through the band’s Bandcamp site:
You can order the single through your local record store. It is available everywhere.
April Set: 雪 / 海の低でうたう唄
(Unchantable Records, UCT-050, Japan, 2023)
In 2003, April Set released their debut album 'Les Classiques' on the Japanese label New World Records. The album was a compilation of two 12" EPs that April Set had released in 2000 and 2003 on the strangely named Afters Or Records, 'Baile Eterno' in 2000 and 'Bossa Presso' in 2003. April Set was the alias of Japanese producer Masanori Suzuki. Suzuki was a very active producer since the late 1990s. He had also released several 12"'s under the name The Fairbanks and had recorded as part of the DJ collective Blue Café and the duo Peanut Butter Workshop. Suzuki's music was influenced by jazz, soul, funk, easy listening and especially bossa nova. This was evident on the April Set releases. One of the four songs on April Set's debut EP, "Baile Eterno," was called 雪, which is pronounced yuki and means 'snow'. It featured a number of guest musicians: Torahiko Yukawa on guitar, Noboru Abe (of the house duo Studio Apartment) on keyboards, Keiko Saito (of the future jazz group Acoustic Dub Messengers) on flute and Blue, i.e. singer Yae (Fujumoto) on vocals. Yae also recorded as a solo artist and released her debut album "New Aeon" in 2001.
雪 was written by Takuro Yoshida, a Japanese folk singer and songwriter. The original performance of Snow was on Yoshida's debut album, 青春の詩, released in 1970. Yoshida had a long career as a singer, composer and arranger. Many other artists recorded his songs (such as April Set). He also composed theme songs for television shows. 雪tells the story of a chance encounter between two people who meet in a small town in a snowy country. The man feels the urge to follow the woman. Then she turns around and they look at each other for a moment. For both of them, the memory of this special encounter returns every time it snows. And the man longs for a winter with snow again, so that he can follow the woman in her footsteps through the snow.
This year, Japanese label Unchantable Records re-released 雪 and another track from the 2003 album, 海の低でうたう唄 ("Songs To Be Sung At The Bottom Of The Sea") on a 7", packaged in a sleeve with a wintry landscape full of snow on the front. Both songs appear in a new 7" mix. At first glance, snow, winter scenes and bossa nova don't seem to go well together, but April Set's ‘Snow’ proves otherwise. Backed by sleigh bells and Yae's relaxed vocals, the song quickly immerses you in a beautiful winter wonderland. It soon becomes clear that Bossa Nova is not only at home on the sunny beaches of Rio de Janeiro, but also on the snowy streets of Tokyo. It's a modern interpretation of bossa nova, though, because the fact that no drummer or percussionist participated in the recording means that all the rhythms come from an electronic device. But you can hardly hear it. The flute adds extra authenticity to the song. The B-side is more uptempo, a real dancefloor filler.
Listen to the full length version of 'Snow' on Youtube:
It is always difficult to get your hands on Japanese releases, if you are not living in Japan. CD Japan ships internationally, and has a site in English. Unfortunately, at the moment, the record is sold out. Hopefully they will get new copies in.
The Yuletime Lifters: Time For Love / Time For Love (Instrumental)
(Daptone Recording Co., DAP-1156, USA, 2023)
The Yuletime Lifters are Ron Preyer (of Los Angeles soul group The Younghearts), Torrénce Brannon (member of the Delfonics) and Clarence Matheney (multi-instrumentalist of Los Yesterday), backed by a group of Daptone session musicians. Then you know you can expect a song with soul that will groove. They have injected some Latin vibes into their Christmas offering, 'Time For Love'. The song begins with a piano that imitates the sound of a church bell telling the time. And what is the time? It doesn't matter, because any time is time for love. The Yuletime Lifters point out that Christmas comes and Christmas goes, but the pursuit of love, peace and understanding remains. And that is the true message of Christmas. The song has lots of soulful harmonies from Ron, Torrénce and Clarence, whose voices work well together, and it also features an organ solo in the instrumental break. One of those songs that touches on Christmas, but can easily be played all year round.
Listen to 'Time For Love' on Bandcamp:
And you can order it too through the label's Bandcamp
The Sensible Gray Cells: Stupid Xmas / Keep It To Yourself
(Damaged Goods, DAMGOOD608, UK, 2023)
It is funny how some musicians keep coming back to Christmas throughout their careers, even though you would think they hate Christmas, judging by the lyrics of their Christmas songs. Take, for example, "Stupid Xmas," the Christmas single just released by The Sensible Gray Cells. The Sensible Gray Cells are fronted by Captain Sensible (Raymond Burns), one of the founding members of first-wave British punk band The Damned and, for a brief period in the early 1980s, a bona fide pop star, albeit one with his tongue firmly in his cheek. The Captain had a UK number one hit with "Happy Talk" (a song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific) and two more UK top 30 hits with the novelty rap song "Wot?!" (1982, #26 UK, #10 here in the Netherlands) and the anti-war song "Glad It's All Over" (1984, #6 UK). In 1980, he and fellow The Sensible Gray Cells member Paul Gray recorded the Christmas song 'There Ain't No Sanity Clause' as part of The Damned. The band released it as a single. In 1983 the song was re-released in a remixed version with a different B-side. And one year later Captain Sensible released a solo Christmas single, 'One Christmas Catalogue'.
So you might think that the Captain has a weakness for Christmas. Well, not when you listen to 'Stupid Xmas', in which he complains about spending 'hard-earned lolly' on 'the stuff nobody wears', 'for that lot you can't bear', having to listen to the same old Christmas songs that should have been binned a long time ago but you still sing along to (Slade!) and, worst of all, having to record a Christmas song while the roses are still blooming because 'Lord knows it's only June!' But we all know the Captain is not a plaintiff, and he concludes: 'Let's not whine, it's Christmas time!' So bring on the Christmas bells and vocal harmonies, tell producer Dick Crippen he is Phil Spector, bring your friends and family, the dog and the stuffed turkey toy (no stuffed turkey please, the Captain is a vegetarian), put on a Christmas hat, shoot a video in the middle of summer pretending to be cold (as in "It's Christmas!!!"), finish with a cool guitar solo and there you have it: another Christmas hit to annoy you every Christmas forever.
Released on 7" by Damaged Good Records, on green and red vinyl. Randomly assigned, so it will be a surprise when you buy a copy, which colour you will find inside. And you may be in for even more surprises as, according to the press release, "a certain number of records will have a deliberate mistake hidden... well, somewhere - a jolly wheeze inspired by some of those old Stiff Records 'instant collector's item' mispressings". So, plenty to get excited about! B-side 'Keep It To Yourself' is not a Christmas song, but "sees the band in full 'armchair detective' mode, taking a look at the still unresolved Madeleine McCann mystery", to quote the same press release.
In addition to Captain Sensible on guitar and vocals and Paul Gray of The Damned and Eddie And The Hot Rots on bass, The Sensible Gray Cells features Johnny Moped drummer Martin Parrott on drums. The band recorded their debut album with a different drummer in 2013, reunited with new drummer Parrott in 2019 and released their second album 'Get Back Into The World' in 2020.
The single is sold out on the Damaged Goods website, but if you are lucky you can still find it online or in your local record shop.
Nación Funk All-Stars featuring Koko-Jean Davis
Soulful Christmas Vol. II: What Christmas Means To Me / Gee Wiz, It's Christmas
(Buenritmo, BR 112SG, Spain, 2023)
Nación Funk All-Stars is a band from Barcelona, Spain, that has been active for many years in different line-ups, with musicians who are also active in other bands. The group is inspired by both the hip hop culture and the soul and funk music that inspired hip hop. Band leader Lalo López has now assembled a permanent line-up. The Nación Funk All-Stars not only perform and record themselves, but also back up international artists on tour. In 2022 and again in 2023, they collaborated with Mozambican-born, Barcelona-based singer Koko-Jean Davis on two Christmas singles. Davis is the former lead singer of The Excitements and now fronts Koko-Jean & The Tonics.
On the two singles 'Soulful Christmas' and 'Soulful Christmas Vol. II' the group covers four absolute Christmas classics: 'Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)' (Darlene Love) and 'Merry Christmas, Baby' (Charles Brown) on the 2022 single and 'What Christmas Means To Me' (Stevie Wonder) and 'Gee Wiz, It's Christmas' (Carla Thomas) on the 2023 single. Koko-Jean has a powerful and very soulful voice and the Nación Funk All-Stars are a tight band with a strong horn section. Add to this a wall-of-sound production and a clear northern soul influence, especially on the second single, and you know they are doing these songs justice.
You can listen to the four songs on Youtube:
You can buy the singles from the Buenritmo website, and if you buy both, you get them for a cheaper price. Buy them here.
Claudine Longet: I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You / Snow
(A&M, A&M 895, USA, 1967)
Margo Guryan: I Don’t Intend To Spend Christmas Without You / Sunday Morning
(Nordpolen Musikklubb, Julepakke13, Norway, 2023)
'I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You' was written by New York songwriter, lyricist, pianist and singer Margo Guryan for French actrice, singer and dancer Claudine Longet, who recorded it in 1967. Earlier that year, Claudine Longet had recorded another song of Margo Guryan, 'Think Of Rain', in fact the first song Margo wrote after switching from writing jazz songs to pop songs.
In the first ten years of her career as a songwriter, Margo Guryan had mainly written jazz and jazz-inspired songs, that had been recorded by artists like Harry Belafonte, Chris Connor and Nancy Harrow. She also wrote lyrics for compositions of jazz greats like John Lewis, Ornette Coleman and Arif Mardin. After a friend played 'God Only Knows' of the Beach Boys album 'Pet Sounds' for her, a completely new world opened for Guryan, and she decided to switch from writing jazz songs to writing pop songs. Margo Guryan is mainly known as a songwriter, although she did record a solo album in 1968, 'Take A Picture', but not wanting to tour to promote the album, the album was not a success. It remained her sole solo release, until several demo recordings she did of songs she wrote for other artists, were released on the CD compilation '25 Demos' in 2001 (and rereleased as '27 Demos' with two extra songs on cassette in 2014 and as '29 Demos' with two more songs on double LP in 2016).
It was Tommy Li Puma, head of A&M Records, who asked Guryan to write a Christmas song for Longet. He explicitely requested to make it a song without all the usual Christmas stuff, like snow, mistletoe and presents. She wrote the song and recorded a demo version. That version later also appeared on the '25 Demos' compilation.
You can listen to Margo Guryan's demo version here:
Margo sent the demo over to California, where Claudine recorded the song. In line with the request of Tommy Li Puma, the song was about Christmas, but had nothing to do with the usual cheerful Christmas celebration, although the song had a hopeful ending. The song tells the story of how two people separated, but in the end, it turned out they only wanted to show the other how it feels to be alone, and to not be together. Finally, the lesson is learned, and they get together again as, it turns out, “I don't intend to spend Christmas without you'”. The singer who Margot wrote the song for, Claudine Longet, was born in Paris in January 1942, and had just seen her major breakthrough the year before. In 1967, Claudine Longet had released several singles and two albums, and her label A&M Records was very active in promoting her as their major female star.
At the time, Longet was married to Andy Williams, well known for the many Christmas songs he recorded. Both Claudine and Andy felt a strong connection with Christmas. It was no coincidence that they had married on Christmas Day, 1961 and that they named their first two children Noëlle and Christian. So it was no surprise that Claudine sooner or later would record a Christmas song.
Claudine was originally from France, but already went to the USA as a teenager, and became the lead dancer of the Folies Bergère revue at the Tropicana Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. She met Andy Williams in 1960, when he stopped when he saw her standing by the side of the road with car trouble. The first few years of her marriage, Claudine was mainly playing in tv series, and she also appeared several times on the Andy Williams show. Occasionally she also appeared as a singer on tv. Her big breakthrough came when she sang an English-French bilingual rendition of the bossa nova song 'Meditation', in a style that soon would become her trademark: singing with a soft sensual voice, filled with longing and melancholy but also with a cheerful optimism.
Herb Alpert offered her a recording contract with A&M Records. Between 1966 and 1970 Claudine would record five albums and many singles for the label, one of these singles being 'I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You'. The single went to #30 in Billboards 1967 Christmas list, but did not chart in the Hot 100, nor in the Adult Contemporary list, like some of Claudine's other singles.
You can listen to Claudine Longet's version here:
Despite the title, the B-side of the single, 'Snow', is not really a Christmas song. It's a beautiful ballad, starting with only piano, and later joined by a flute and violas, about missing a loved one who has gone, with all memories buried under snow. It's sung in a lovely way by Claudine, and in this song, her charming French accent, really adds something to the song. It's a kind of song to warm yourself, while sitting by a fire inside, while snow is all around you outside...
You can listen to Claudine Longet's 'Snow' here:
Fast forward to 2023, when Norwegian Christmas label Nordpolen Musikklubb did what made many lovers of Christmas music who preferred Margo Guryan’s version over that of Claudine Longnet's version very happy: the label released the demo version that Margo Guryan had recorded of ‘I Don’t Intend To Spend Christmas Without You’ on 7”. It comes, as usual with the annual releases on the label, in a festive sleeve, is pressed on red vinyl and limited to 300 copies. Unfortunately, Guryan was not there anymore to witness this landmark, as she had died on November 8, 2021.
Get your copy: here before the single sells out (as most of the Nordpolen Musikklubb releases do.
Or contact the label through their Facebook page
Norah Jones & Laufey: Christmas With You: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas / Better Than Snow
(Blue Note, 585210 6, US, 2023)
Norah Jones and Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir differ more than 20 years in age and were born in completely different parts of the world (respectively New York City, USA and Reykjavik, Iceland) but they also have a lot in common. They both came from mixed-race and musical families. Jones is the daughter of Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, while Laufey’s mother was a classic trained Chinese violinist, and her grandfather was a violin educator of the Central Conservatory of Music in China. Both had a musical education, Jones at the University of North Texas and Laufey at the Reykjavík College of Music and later at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Both mention Billie Holiday as an early influence. And both are known as jazz singers and musicians, who take jazz as there starting point but are not afraid to allow other influences into their music, be it (bedroom) pop or country, which has led to both appealing to a wide audience. Jones had six US top 3 albums, Laufey one, but that is mainly because she only has released two albums so far.
Both also have a love for Christmas music. Over the years, Jones has recorded many Christmas songs, be it as a guest on other artists albums (Seth MacFarlane's Christmas album 'Holiday For Swing'), duetting with other singers (with Cyndi Lauper on a 2011 cover of ‘Home For The Holidays’), on television (on the Holiday Special 2011 of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations), as part of the group Puss N Boots that she had formed with Sasha Dobson and Catherine Popper (the 2019 5-song Christmas EP ‘Dear Santa’) or as a solo artist (the 2021 album ‘I Dream Of Christmas’). Laufey released a Christmas EP in 2022, 'A Very Laufey Holiday'’ and supplied vocals for Alexander 23’s Christmas single 'Ain't Christmas', also in 2022.
And now, in 2023, the two women got together, and recorded two Christmas songs for a Christmas single, ‘Christmas With You’. The single has one cover, ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’, and one original that Jones and Laufey wrote together, ‘Better Than Snow’. Both songs sound very intimate, as if both ladies are sitting right beside you, playing the songs. Jones plays piano and Laufey guitar and cello, while both share vocals on both songs. On 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' the distinct voices of the two singers blend very well together and there is enough room for some jazzy musical interludes. It is a song that has been recorded many times over, but this version definitely adds something new and fresh to the song.
Laufey lives in Los Angeles, and that may have inspired the playful 'Better Than Snow', as Jones and Laufey sing about Christmas lights on palm trees, driving to the ocean, watching the waves and being warmed by the sun. 'Jackfrost won't mind if we / Stay in the heat of each other / Christmas With You / Is Better Than Snow'. So no snowmen are build this year, but sandcastles. Nevertheless, cookies will still be baked... a very relaxed song, that will go over well, not only if you celebrate Christmas in Los Angeles, but also if you celebrate it in snowy Reykjavik or New York City.
The single comes in three variants: on red vinyl, that can be bought from Norah Jones' website and the Blue Note website, on green vinyl as a Spotify Exclusive, and on regular black vinyl - for all those who just are going to buy it in their local record shop.
You can buy the red vinyl here
You can buy the green vinyl here
You can buy the black vinyl here or can order it through your local record shop.
And you can listen to the songs on Youtube.
‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ here:
Peaness: Kiss Me Sweat Pea b/w Sad Season
(Totally Snick Records, SNICK 7, UK, 2023, 45 rpm, small hole, 198 copies)
In the early days of Christmas pop music, the 1950s and early 1960s, a common format for groups that recorded two Christmas originals for a single, was to have one up tempo song that celebrated the joys of Christmas and a ballad that touched on the melancholic side of Christmas to fill both sides of the record. It is this format that the cleverly (and a bit naughty) named female indie pop trio Peaness return to on their first Christmas effort.
Peaness was formed in 2014 by Carlea Balbenta (Balla), Jessica Branley (Jess) and Rachel Williams (Rach), who met each other during their studies at the University of Chester. Since then, they have recorded for several smaller labels (like Alcopop!, Odd Box and Kingfisher Bluez, a label known for releasing a yearly Christmas single). Peaness’ 2022 debut full length was released on their own Totally Snick Records, and so is this Christmas single. The single, that comes in a pink die cut sleeve, while the labels have the shape of cartoon peas, has two originals, the poppy A-side ‘Kiss Me Sweet Pea’ and the melancholic B-side ‘Sad Season’.
‘Kiss Me Sweet Pea’ has everything you have come to expect from a Christmas pop song since the Phil Spector Christmas album: bells, vocal harmonies, lyrics mentioning mistletoe, sleigh riding and presents. Add to that some loud guitars and, to quote the press release, even ‘a nod to the classic Nolly Holder scream’. The press release also talks about the song having a key change, and that is indeed the case. ‘Kiss Me Sweet Pea’ doesn’t paint a positive picture of Christmas to begin with: “It's that time yet again / Am I losing my head? / I'm filling with dread / Since October 31st / I've been thinking the worst / It's all too rehearsed...”. But then, everything changes: the radio starts playing the same old songs again and there it is, the mood change! Gone is the dread. Instead, you start thinking about all the nice things you will do at Christmas time, when you are together again with your loved one.
So indeed, ‘Kiss Me Sweet Pea’ is a feel-good Christmas song that will cheer you up, even more so if you watch the video, as that is as sweet as the song. In the video, band members Balla and Rach are enjoying every moment of the day before Christmas, with their red Christmas hats on, while grinch Jess is dragged along, wearing a black ‘Bah Humbug’ hat and being annoyed about everything that comes with Christmas. The Christmas-market. The snow. Baking cookies. Hanging the stockings. Putting the presents under the Christmas tree. That is, until the morning, when she sees what Santa has brough for her! And soon the black grinch hat is changed for a red Santa hat and the Christmas party is on. With ‘Kiss Me Sweet Pea’ as the soundtrack.
Such a turn for the better is lacking in ‘Sad Season’. In it, Jess, backed up by piano and strings, sings about being alone of Christmas while everybody else is enjoying themselves. At the end of the song, she desperately asks herself "When will my Christmas be like it's supposed to be?". If you would have told me that ‘Sad Season’ is a cover of a song written in the 1940s or 1950s by one of the great songwriters of that time, I would completely have believed it. Christmas songs don’t come much sadder as ‘Sad Season’. But it is beautiful in all its sadness.
I would have loved to have Peaness been part of the Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club, but, unfortunately, that never happened. But I was right in thinking they could come up with a great indie pop Christmas single, as this single shows. I am very happy that a Peaness Christmas single materialized after all. Already one of the highlights of the 2023 Christmas season! Get yourself a copy while it is still available. Because Peaness records tend to sell out quickly.
You can watch the video of ‘Kiss Me Sweet Pea’ here:
And listen to both songs and also order the single at Peaness’ Bandcamp:
