Sam Russo: Mistletoe Pier

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.