This is a collaboration between a former member of the group The Dig and a singer/producer of "wordless soundscapes." This 2024 single includes this song, a bit of a folky strum backing said wordless soundscapes, and "home alone,"a synth-pop chorale that evokes Enya and other such folks. The melancholy of both tunes might reasonably be considered to evoke the winter holidays, but those who are looking for something more obviously holiday-connected might be disappointed. Nevertheless, it's out there to be streamed or downloaded by those who feel the connection.
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These guys (this particular group, I should say; there's at least two groups with this name, search them as "Something Fierce (MN)" when trying to track them down) were a big deal in Minneapolis back in the late 80s and 90s, and they recently resurrected all their past work and dropped it on Bandcamp. We're here with them for this particular song, a cool power pop anthem to an evil Santa (you know it's an anagram, right?), and if you missed them the first time around, feel free to drop them into your modern playlists. The song is part of an EP of the same name, but the other songs are non-holiday topics.
This 2024 release is a compilation of new original songs by an array of groups that identify as progressive rock, a genre that peaked commercially in the 1970s but has always retained a cadre of loyal fans, some who trace their favorites' history back to psychedelia and others who simply got on the train when they discovered their favorite artists identified as progressive. This collection includes the previously reviewed "I Ruined Christmas" by Refrestramus, along with a solid pop-rock ballad by giGO called "Christmas Tears." That one's also available as a single. Other performers include A Multitude of One, whose "A Christmas Surprise" is a by-the-book prog-rock instrumental; Orchestre Celeste, whose "Cornubia" is an extended instrumental journey through prog, synth-rock and even jazz; Maurizio Vercon's "In the Hands of God" is an old-school hard rock guitar-shredding ballad; Juan R. Leon's "Re-gifting Ye Old Fruitcake" is a lengthy keyboard-heavy melody and his "Jesus Wept" has a classical/flamenco influence that appears to include both guitar and treble-heavy bass; The Round Robins' "Web Cosmic Visions" has a kind of late-period King Crimson feel to it; Stanislav and the Lion's "Yuki-Onna" is a brief monologue over a Japanese-influenced melody; Robeone's "Robeone Christmas" is a rock improvisation over "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"; and Quicksilver Night has two entries, one with vocalist Nina Flory called "Dragon's Eye View," a bombastic Florence and the Machine-styled song, and, with Dark Beauty, "Whispers in the Snow," a fairly sweet 70s hard rock midtempo ballad. Must note that the preponderance of instrumentals means that a lot of this won't "feel" like Christmas to some, but that's for the listener to decide. Appears to be only on Bandcamp.
As promised, the second of two Christmas albums by this Buffalo ska-punk band. This one's title is sardonic, in that it's 14 covers of familiar holiday tunes in which they pull the arrangements apart and dance merrily upon even the actual melodies of the songs. Whether they're actually ruined, of course, is up to the listener; I found them highly entertaining. They thrash "Holly Jolly Christmas" to a fare-thee-well, go way upbeat on "Blue Christmas," take the familiar blues "Please Come Home For Christmas" uptempo and jaunty, impose a minor-key arrangement on "Rockin Around the Christmas Tree," make a waltz out of "I'll Be Home For Christmas," transform "Monsters Holiday," the Bobby "Boris" Pickett followup to "Monster Mash," and turn "Christmas In Hollis" into a more melodic ska anthem. They manage to not make too much of a change to "Mele Kalikimaka," and go crazy on "Christmas Vacation." This is fun all the way through, with playlist possibilities galore. Unlike the other one, this is only available through Bandcamp.
There's really no shortage of Christmas music done by modern surf-punk ska bands, so what was going through the heads of this bunch of folks from Buffalo, NY when they dropped two whole albums of Christmas music for 2024? Not sure, but I'm only sorry it took till the end of the season for me to discover them. This is the first of the two albums, consisting of 18 original, jaundiced, hilarious takes on the holiday, as the titles will attest. (They like to put everything in capitol letters, but it looks horrendous in practice, so humor me.) "Christmas Sucks!," "Guess What I Got You? Nothing!," "Drunk For Christmas!," "Ruin Christmas Just Because!," "You Ruined Christmas and My Life!," "Holiday Fist Fight!," "Merry and Miserable," and more of the same. I would note some might think the 19th tune, a cover of the Vandals' "Grandpa's Last Christmas!," is taking things a little too far, but given that the song mocks the mom who tells the kids the title every year for decades as much as anything else, I'll allow it. Streaming and downloads, and there's a separate review for the other album here as well.
Latest UPDATE: For 2024, the band has reissued this as a 4-CD, 1 Blu-Ray archive collection, which appears to take in almost everything mentioned in the ensuing review, although the DVD included as part of the earlier reissue does not appear to be on offer. END UPDATE. The often-maligned progressive rock act of the 1970s never actually went away, continuing to record straight through any number of pop music fads. And this is a good time to note this site has been remiss in not noting the group has actually had a number of holiday tunes over time - "Christmas Song" from Living in the Past, "Ring Out Solstice Bells" from Songs for the Wood, "Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow" from an 80s single B-side, and "Another Christmas Song" from the 90s album Rock Island. UPDATE: Tom Rombouts notes a performance of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" on the 1978 live album Bursting Out. All of these tunes are on this newly recorded 2003 album, along with the Bach instrumental "Bouree," first played by the group on the album Stand Up. On the other hand, these guys have kept their rock influences at arm's length for quite a while now, and there's very little on this album for rock fans. It's mostly classically oriented pop, a lot of guitar/flute instrumentals with some vocals and a little jazz thrown in from time to time - other than those jazz flourishes, this album wouldn't sound out of place as the background music for a colonial Christmas tableaux in Williamsburg, Va. The 16 tunes include those mentioned above, along with a sprinkling of new originals and a few classics like "Greensleeves," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "We Five Kings" (poetic license there, but it's the same song) and "Holly Herald," a medley of "Holly and the Ivy" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." The album was re-released for 2004 in a deluxe package that includes a DVD. Both versions appear to be out of print, but Amazon continues to offer downloads.
This is what I get for going to bed after "Weekend Update." I just find out this happened on SNL two weeks ago.
G. Love and Special Sauce is a Philadelphia-based group that has for years traded on an improbable amalgamation of country blues and hip-hop, and they've been reasonably successful with it, if not actually household words by now. This is their second Christmas album after 2017's outing, almost all new except for a revisiting of the previously released "Cape Cod Winter Blues." The title tune is as advertised, a partially rapped love letter to angling on the holidays, "Joy to the World" is a straight country hoedown, "Falling in Love With Christmas" is more of G. Love's signature sound, "Christmas Moon" is a harmony ballad carried by mandolin and harmonica, "Holiday on the Island" throws in some tropically appropriate reggae rhythm and organ, the classic "Jingle Bells" gets a funky rhythm section along with the famous "Batman" alternate verses, "I Saw Santa" is a fast shuffle behind self-explanatory lyrics, "Christmas Change" is a front-porch skiffle session about filling Santa's begging pail, "Christmas Is Coming" lays into a jungle beat before singing it as a round, and the band wraps up with two classics, "We Three Kings" as a waltz and "Silent Night" in a country/bluegrass harmony arrangement. Fans will want to complete their collections, but if you haven't had any G. Love in your collection before, now's a good time to start. Downloads and streaming available.
This act has been around long enough that you probably know this is the name Natasha Khan uses for making music. For 2024 she dropped this cut on her album The Dream of Delphi; it's an ethereal little number with only a few lyrics, so you may or may not hear the holiday connection, but folks who prefer this kind of synth-pop will want this in their Christmas playlists. There's also an alternate version of this in which the synths are played down in favor of Laura Somogyi's harp playing, but it's no less ethereal. Downloads and streaming available for both.
Sun June is a boy-girl duo from Austin TX, and Advance Base is Owen Ashworth, the producer of this 2024 holiday single. It's a synth-pop ballad of alienated companionship, very hypnotic but also relatively short. Kind of appropriate that it dropped on Dec. 26. Streaming and downloads in the usual places.
Last year we belatedly introduced you to this series of alt-rock-pop compilations, and they dropped another for 2024. The series benefits the UK charity Crisis, which battles homelessness, and the artists apparently donated their songs to it. As with the past ones, there are plenty of tunes previously covered in the pages of Mistletunes, along with a bumper crop of songs I haven't previously encountered, for a total of 65 tunes. Their Bandcamp page is where you go to pick it up, and I recommend doing so.
Not familiar with this group, which has a couple singles and an album prior to this 2024 Christmas single, but I really like this, a midtempo wash of synths and guitars evoking a mood, although it's hard to follow the lyrics so you may have trouble envisioning this in a holiday playlist, but trust me, it's a Christmas song. Downloads and streaming available.
Nice alt-rock-pop midtempo ballad from Roe, and this 2024 number appears to be her first Christmas song after a long string of singles and one album. Check it out, downloads and streaming wherever you normally get them.
Another new artist pops up with a double-sided Christmas single. These folks, as you might guess, are a modern ska band, though not of the amped-up methedrine tempo school of music. The A-side, "Behind Every Santa, There's a Mrs. Claus" is a fine leisurely ode to the jolly elf's better half, and "Slay Belles" is a reggae toasting number with a feminist overlay. Cool stuff to download, stream, and add to your playlists.
These guys are pretty new, having dropped an album earlier in 2024 and now adding a Christmas single to the discography. This is a medium tempo alt-rock holiday lament and it's a pretty compelling number to add to your Christmas playlists. Downloads and streaming everywhere.
I'm not your usual folkie fan but I always liked this song, which I first heard in a version by Tara MacLean on an alt-rock-folk compilation and has been done by country artists like Selah and Emmylou Harris. This 2024 version features Americana artists Jaimee Harris, known for her affiliation with Mary Gauthier, and Tyler and Helm, the latter of whom is the daughter of Levon Helm of the Band and singer-songwriter Libby Titus. Solid performance on the folky side, downloads and streaming everywhere.
Weirdly, the Amazon page for this song tells a story about Gary Usher, the 1960s producer who worked with Brian Wilson and other surf bands, having cut an album with session musicians under this band name. Which is probably true, but irrelevant to this song. A little more research reveals this is by a modern-day band from Lowell, MA, and this 2024 single is a nice bit of grungy alt-rock, decently produced with a solid melody and cool lyrics about Santa distracting himself with online gaming and ignoring Mrs. Claus. Visit them at Bandcamp or click the cover to grab it from Amazon.
The formerly middle school all-girl punk band (gotta be graduating high school by now) previously had a Christmas single and now they're back with this cover of the evergreen rock classic. No Amazon link, apparently this is an Apple Music exclusive for 2024.
These long-running Laurel Canyon acolytes dropped a slow-motion holiday ballad for 2024 about reconciling with relatives on the holiday. Nice work. They previously helped out on one of the Killers' Christmas songs. Downloads and streaming as usual.
Back in 2018 I belatedly discovered these guys, a New York band that had been dropping kilotons of original Christmas music in a power pop-retro 60s vein for several years by then. Turns out they've not let up and I've neglected this development. This is the 2024 installment in their ongoing project and it's more of the same, genre-wise, although I should note that sharp-eared listeners will note a fair amount of, shall we say, repurposed material among these tunes. One should not lump these guys in with the growing trend toward AI-aided offerings, however, as these tunes stand up pretty well to the best stuff by artists in the same genres. "Christmastime Is Everywhere Tonight" throws in some mellotron to give this a kind of Revolver-esque sheen, "Remembering Christmas" is a nice crunchy rocker, as is "Xmas the Spot," and "Jacob Marley Mr Scrooge" does a credible recapping of the plot of the Dickens classic in a sinister slow-tempo arrangement. "Last Call For Christmas" is a nice midtempo ode to closing time on Christmas Eve, " Christmas Bomb" and "Ring Ring Ring" are catchy power pop, "Dirty Xmas" is a poppy report of a low-budget holiday, "O'Merry, O'Malley, O'Christmas" is what happens when The Records try to record a holiday-themed Irish drinking song, and "One More Christmas" wraps things up with an around-the-hearth rocker. I should note other titles we've missed over the years like Just Add Xmas, Make Room For Christmas, Aaahh! Real Christmas, and Hand Claps For Christmas. There are also a bunch of singles but I haven't had time to determine whether any of them were included on the albums. And I'll note that despite this prodigious holiday output, they've also recorded albums of non-holiday fare as well. Click the cover to get the new one from Amazon.
Back again for 2024 are our friends Dead Gwynne, whose whole existence appears to be based upon cutting an annual Christmas song that they distribute freely from their website. This year's offering is an angular and aggressive guitar-led semi-rap that's a little less festive sounding but kind of fun for all that. The website offers this and all their previous 32 songs free of charge.
Earlier in 2024, this Los Angeles band dropped a single, "(You Broke My Heart) On Christmas Eve," with a note that it was part of this EP, which finally dropped today. The other songs are covers; a noisy take on "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," a grungy version of the Ramones' "Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight)," and probably the first cover I've heard of Cher's "DJ Play a Christmas Song," which is in the style of the other songs here. Downloads and streaming everywhere, and a CD version is available from their label.
This is George's second single this year, a little more uptempo with a bit of ukulele and trumpet, and the lyric stating how he'd like to marry Mary for a merry Christmas lets us know he's having a lot of fun with this. There are serious compositional chops involved with this number, which has all the earmarks of a late 60s top 40 single. You might want to rush this into your playlists; streaming and downloads in all the usual places.
Last year George dropped a New Year's single which was a pretty cool piece of power pop. For 2024, he's dropped two separate Christmas singles. This one is a poppy ballad and kind of sappy, though there's a possibility he's just having us listeners on, given the overlay of familiar carols that starts about two-thirds of the way in. Check it out for yourself, streaming and downloads everywhere.
Don't know anything about these guys, but here's yet another semi-jaundiced pop-punk take on Christmas ennui for 2024. It's cool and will definitely brighten up your playlists. Streaming and downloads from all the usual suspects.
Bone Sound Inc. has been dropping Christmas compilations since 2020, and this is the one for 2024. The concept is basically indie artists doing Christmas songs, kicking off with Boeckner doing a grungy "Blue Christmas," Electric Santa playing with the tempo concept of the title with a thrashy "Merry Fast/Slow Christmas," Serious Bob doing an exaggeratedly slow version of "O Christmas Tree," and Boy Brooks taking a slightly more uptempo approach to "O Holy Night." Julian Lynch goes practically motionless in the atmospheric take on "O Little Town of Bethlehem," Heavenly Peace offers "Slow Hanukkah," a version of "O Hanukkah," brend_zombley takes on "Angels We Have Heard on High" in which the melody is slowly drowned out by white noise, and Fire-Toolz wraps things up with "Shaktipat w/The Lord," more grungy synth noises. This is something for fairly specific tastes, so tread lightly. Check it out on Bandcamp.
Not satisfied with a decade's worth of Christmas goodies, members of Vista Blue created this side project to do songs related only to the movie "A Christmas Story." For 2024 their song regards the bandit from Ralphie's dreams that he dispatches with the famous air rifle. As with other songs by this group, the specificity to the movie might not be what you want for a Christmas playlist -- or it might just be what you're looking for. Downloads and streaming everywhere, and you can catch up with the whole discography at Bandcamp.
This Nashville punk band has been making Christmas songs for 10 years, and for 2024 they dropped this EP featuring the Ramones-like "I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter," "When the Christmas Tree is All Aglow," and the title song, based on the quote from "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." Weirldly, the version on most services drops "I'm Gonna Be Warm"; to get all three you must go to Bandcamp.
Not satisfied with having dropped three Christmas albums in three years, including 2024, the charity project of the Philadelphia Eagles just rushed out this single, which is pretty much what you would expect given who's involved. Nevertheless, completists must hurry to include this in their collections. Downloads and streaming everywhere, natch.
