The Silver Biplanes Christmas single - Christmas in an outer space winter

Silver Biplanes
Christmastime In Outer Space / Winter
(Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club, Snowflake 38, The Netherlands, 2025)

While in the process of promoting the 2024 edition of the Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club, I received a Facebook-message from Tim Vass. He wrote me that his band Silver Biplanes recorded a cover of 'Silver Bells' sometime ago and he had an idea about a new Christmas song, about spending Christmas in space. Tim played in Razorcuts in the 1980s, a band that, before signing to Creation Records, released singles on the Subway Organization label, just as The Chesterf!elds did. Simon Chesterf!eld had recorded a single for the 2024 edition of the Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club, so I guess that was how Tim learned about the label. I wrote back that I was interested, but that I prefer to release new songs, not songs already released, like the band's cover of 'Silver Bells'.

Months later, out of the blue, Tim sent me two songs, the Christmas in space original he had talked about, and a cover of 'Winter', originally recorded by The Loft. I really liked both songs, and although I already had four bands for the 2025 edition, I decided to add Silver Biplanes as fifth release. When about two weeks later, it turned out one of the four original bands had to pull out, we were back to the initially planned four releases for the 2025 edition. Sometimes everything just falls into place in the end.

Both songs of the single are now online, so you can hear why I did not have any doubts to let Silver Biplanes join the Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club, after hearing the songs!

The band Silver Biplanes formed during the 2020 lockdown when multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Tim Vass and his wife, singer Vanessa Vass, began working on songs together. Both Tim and Vanessa have a long history in the indie music scene. Tim was a member of the indie rock band the Razorcuts, who had two top three albums on the indie charts in the late 1980s, as well as the psychedelic bands Red Chair Fadeaway and Dandelion Wine. Vanessa sang in the indie pop band The Melons in the 1990s. The Melons released several singles, including two on Damaged Goods. After recording a first demo in July 2021, Rob Scott, another former member of the Melons, joined them on drums. So far, the group has released two albums: 'A Moment In The Sun' (2023, on Where It's At Is Where You Are) and 'Travelling By Candlelight' (2024, on Where It's At Is Where You Are and the Greek label Old Bad Habits). Recently, they released a four-song 10" EP titled 'Coming Up For Air' on Precious. The band calls itself a melodic indie group, and their music is influenced by a wide array of genres, including indie pop, post-punk, psychedelic rock, glam rock, and krautrock.

In 2022, Silver Biplanes recorded the famous silver-themed Christmas song: 'Silver Bells'. Now, three years later, the trio—joined by guitarist Noel Douglas—offers their first original Christmas song for a Snowflakes Christmas Club single: 'Christmastime In Outer Space'. A blend of indie rock and synthpop, the song takes listeners on a rocket trip far from church bells and Christmas trees. Space echoes and a motorik-like beat give the song a sense of traveling through outer space. The B-side, 'Winter', is a cover of a song by the legendary indie rock band The Loft. The Silver Biplanes give the song a complete makeover. With dreamy vocals by Vanessa and a melancholic organ-like keyboard backing, it has an early 1980s feel (Virginia Astley springs to mind) and a timeless quality that perfectly captures the feeling of winter. The single is pressed on white bio vinyl and comes in a retro-looking sleeve designed by wiaiwya.

Listen to the songs on Bandcamp:

You can still order the three still available 7"'s of this year's edition of the Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club, including the Silver Biplanes single on Big Cartel: Snowflake's Big Cartel