Every year the number of Christmas songs creeps up and up, but 2020 and the enforced extended periods of staying at home seems to have put a rocket under a whole load of musicians to make a bid for festive notoriety. Below is a round up of this bumper crop of seasonal songs but, be warned, not all of them are pro-Christmas….
Gina Baez – Christmas Candlelight
Gina Naomi Baez is one of those sickeningly talented people
who can turn their hand to any number of activities and roles but all that over
achieving is forgiven when ‘Christmas Candlelight’ melts your heart. Sleigh
bells, twinkling piano notes and a sense of hopeful purity all mix up like
mulled wine to give you a warm glow inside.
More information: https://www.instagram.com/ginanaomibaez/
Pentatonix – Thank You
In recent years, acapella group
Pentatonix have forged ahead in the Christmas rankings with a series of
heartfelt covers of Christmas classics. This year, the quintet have pulled
together a whole album for the holidays but they are leading with an original
composition, ‘Thank You’. The unusual addition of a piano and cello makes this
different to Pentatonix’s previous releases but the unerringly tight vocal
harmonies and perfect hair lets you know that this is the real deal. The bottom
line is that this is a song about being grateful for what you have and it’s
pretty hard to argue with a message like that.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/Pentatonix
The Strawheads – Rebelieve
There’s a dusky and husky tone to
the wistful festive offering from the Strawheads who are keen to look back to a
simpler, more innocent time when Christmas still held the magic it does for
children. ‘Rebelieve’ has a pleasing acoustic strum and complimentary vocal
harmonies which, if you listen carefully, you can almost hear the fire
crackling behind.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/thestrawheads
Goldblade with Poly Styrene – City of Christmas Ghosts
Who wouldn’t be tempted by a
Christmas song created by a mash up between Goldblade and Poly Styrene, right? ‘City
of Christmas Ghosts’ is reliably punk in spirit with Wild West undertones setting
the scene for Styrene and John Robb to duet over. Interestingly, this is a
rerelease brought about by fan pressure as there was a feeling that this didn’t
get enough recognition first time around so maybe the timing is better for a
song of this energy and vim now.
More information:
Goldblade - https://www.facebook.com/Goldbladeband
Poly Styrene - https://www.facebook.com/polystyrenemusic
Eliza and the Monkey Butts – Before Santa Arrives
Kids are getting younger and
younger these days, aren’t they? Eliza, in this instance, is just 7 years old
but she has already formed a group of Monkey Butts around her and they have
produced this festive offer, ‘Before Santa Arrives’. Fortunately, Eliza doesn’t
come across as at all precocious and the melody is dripping in indie influences
so she’s obviously been steered right by her parents. “We all need a good Christmas
all over the world” is a pretty powerful lyric to come out of the mouth of a 7
year old and if that doesn’t warm your cockles then nothing will.
More information: http://elizaandthemonkeybutts.co.uk/
Watch the Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViJVsRWxwUg&feature=youtu.be
Adrift – I See Christmas
‘I See Christmas’ is an uplifting
pop romp for Christmas courtesy of Adrift and the pace is pretty relentless.
Take the perkiness of McFly, the pop-soul of the Feeling and an overactive drum
machine and you’re getting close to the kind of tune that will land well with
the Tik-Tok generation – if there is such a thing (I’m definitely not part of
that generation, in case you were wondering).
More information: https://twitter.com/Adrift_Music_
Ryan Hamilton w/Emily Capell – Christmas Wish (Wicked Cool)
There’s a really wholesome vibe to
this duet from Ryan Hamilton and Emily Capell and wholesome is what Christmas
is all about, surely. ‘Christmas Wish’ has that festive piano sound and an innate
sense of looking back over the year with the superbly child-like lyric; “Wishing
wells, shooting stars, a lucky rabbit’s foot, praying each and every night that
this year I’ve been good”. This really feels like a log cabin in the snow kind
of song and I’m all over that.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/RyanHamiltonandTheHarlequinGhosts/
Phoebe Bridgers – If We Make It Through December
Another feature of the Christmas
single is often raising awareness and funds for charity and this offering from Phoebe
Bridgers is doing that for the Downtown Womens Center. ‘If We Make It Through
December’ is a gentle and frost covered cover of the Merle Haggard track with
Bridgers’ delicate and nearly broken voice dancing carefully over the mournful
piano keys. This is one of those tracks that deals with the oft-ignored downside
of the festive season and that makes it all the more important.
More information:
Phoebe Bridgers – https://www.facebook.com/phoebebridgers
Downtown Women’s Center - https://downtownwomenscenter.org/
Ice Island – Little Drummer Boy
This is, without a doubt, the
best cover of a Christmas song I have heard this year and possibly in any
number of years. Ice Island take on ‘Little Drummer Boy’ with the vocal style
of Gruff Rhys, the melodies of New Order and Kraftwerk having a jam and the overall
oddballness of LCD Soundsystem. If you’re looking for a tune to please all
generations in the family bubble this Christmas then this is definitely it –
Granny can sing along and the kids will rave their heads off.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/iceislandmusic
Limahl – One Wish for Christmas
80s icon Limahl takes you on a
tour around a Christmassy London with his Christmas tune ‘One Wish for
Christmas’ and it is earnest about love, for sure. The problem is that with all
the references to “Selfridges for shopping” and “cocktails in Mayfair” it feels
a little detached from, well, 90% of the population. It’s a nice enough tune
but this isn’t the moneyed up 80s anymore, most of the people in London can’t
afford to walk down Oxford Street, never mind shop in Selfridges.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/limahlofficial
Watch the Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv64KLxB7AM&feature=youtu.be
Alice Kube feat. Morgan Munroe – I Believe In Christmas
This is a thoroughly festive tune
to warm your heart and raise some money for the Prince’s Trust in the meantime.
Alice Kube has teamed up with Morgan Munroe to duet on ‘I Believe In Christmas’
where the vibe is very much about rekindling that festive fire. Lines like “you
put the me back in merry” may be a little corny but we can all forgive a little
corniness at Christmas for a good cause, can’t we? The voices work perfectly together
and the festive chimes really seal the vibe as you close the door and wrap your
arms around your loved ones.
More information:
Alice Kube - https://www.instagram.com/itsalicekube/
Morgan Munroe - https://www.instagram.com/morganmunroeofficial/
Zealandia Angel – Christmas Dreams
This is certainly at the sadder
end of the Christmas song spectrum but when you’re having a bad Christmas due
to ill health, poverty or other factors then maybe you want to hear something
that resonates. Zealandia Angel’s offering is ‘Christmas Dreams’ and it will
work for fans of sparse, art-pop with influence from the likes of Bjork or otherworldly
K-Pop. Arresting, interesting but not necessarily that festive.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/ZealandiaAngelEntertainment
Alanis Morissette – Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
This is a pretty faithful cover of
the John and Yoko classic but what with it being Alanis Morissette there is a
lot of respect and that distinctly unique voice. ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ is
a little slowed down from the original and there’s an obligatory sleigh bell
percussive element but it’s the children’s backing vocals that really tips this
over the edge as a really festive treat. This is also a timely reminder that
war really is over, if you want it.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/alanismorissette
Brother Sea – Royal Parade
Westcountry folk troupe Brother
Sea are raising money for the homeless charity Shelter with new single ‘Royal
Parade’, named after a key road through the centre of Plymouth. A soothing
vocal wafts out atop a gently played squeeze box and then a comforting acoustic
guitar joins on and the whole thing feels like an arm around the shoulder when
you need it most. The collective sing together with beautiful, earthy harmonies
and they sing of joy, Christmas and angels as though they are sending out reassurances
to those that need it.
More information:
Brother Sea - https://www.facebook.com/brotherseamusic
Shelter - https://www.shelter.org.uk/
Lizzie Cates – Christmas Eve
There is a purity to this
country-pop take on the Christmas theme as Lizzie Cates goes all old-school
Taylor Swift on new single ‘Christmas Eve’. “I still believe in you and me,
just like I still believe in Christmas Eve’ is the crucial line delivered with
regret and hope but also all the pop sweetness of Carly Rae Jepson or Miley Cyrus
just after she abandoned Hannah Montana. Definite festive feels and a real
slickness to boot.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/LizzieCatesMusic
Willie Lock – Footprints
New York City son Willie Lock is
bringing acoustic track ‘Footprints’ to the Christmas table and it comes with a
healthy dose of earnestness and sadness which seems to be a theme of this year’s
tunes. Lock takes simple piano and acoustic melodies, combines it with his excellent
rock vocal to really tug at the heart strings as he sings of a lost parent or
grandparent who helped him home “with footprints in the falling snow”. I don’t
mind admitting to a lump in the throat on this one.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/WillieLock
Jaret Reddick & Kelly Ogden – Get This Christmas Right
This is certainly one of my
favourite submissions this year as members of the Dollyrots and Bowling for
Soup team up for a seasonal single with a video animated by the dudes at
Southpark. ‘Get This Christmas Right’ is, understandably, pop-punk with sleigh
bells on but the back and forth between Reddick and Ogden is cute and will
appeal to older listeners too as it fits in to that musical tradition of polite
arguments played out to a jaunty melody. Merry rockin’ Christmas.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/bowlingforsoup
Robb Murphy – A Brand New Life
A gentle piano melody and the
soft, Belfast vocals of Robb Murphy are what opens ‘A Brand New Life’ and you’re
immediately transported to a modern version of a certain manger on a certain
night. This is a song about new beginnings, parenthood and the hope that comes
with those moments which are so special, pure and fleeting. It might not be
specifically about Christmas but this song encapsulates everything that is good
about the season of good will and the new beginnings that follow.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/TheRobbMurphy
Joey Stuckey – A Santa That Plays Guitar
All blind guitarist Joey Stuckey wants for Christmas is ‘A
Santa That Plays Guitar’ and, honestly, if Santa is up for a jam then he could
do a lot worse. A slow blues jam with tinkling ivories and a rasping vocal
complete the package with Stucky filling in on axe duties until Ol’ Saint Nick
is available (maybe on Boxing Day). Definitely one to turn up loud when the
kids are in bed and the mistletoe is up high.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/JoeyStuckeyMusic
Sophie Ellis-Bexter – My Favourite Things
Sophie Ellis-Bester covering
Julie Andrews – could you get anything more English? Maybe if you put marmalade
on top but that would be weird. Anyway, the queen of Lockdown has produced a
pin-point accurate version of ‘My Favourite Things’ and, honestly, it’s never
been my jam but at the end of this year of years, it might just be what I need.
Practically perfect in every way (yes, wrong movie, I know) and just the kind
of pure innocence we all need to start again in 2021.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/SophieEllisBextor
Wesley Gonzales – Red Man Is Back Again (With A Lonely Dose
of Pain)
This is a jaunty little alt-pop
number from Wesley Gonzales and the superbly titled ‘Red Man Is Back Again
(With A Lonely Dose of Pain)’. Buzzing guitars, synths and steady beat all
serve to support Gonzalez’s Bryan Ferry-esque vocal telling stories of mundane
and heartbroken Christmases past, present and future. Lo-fi and honest, just
like I like my Christmas.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/wesleygonzalezmusic
Kathryn Williams & Carol Ann Duffy – Snow Angel (One
Little Independent Records)
This feels like a pretty big deal
with Mercury nominated Kathryn Williams teaming up with poet and playwright
Carol Ann Duffy to produce this charming slice of wintry goodness. ‘Snow Angel’
opens with the melting icicles of acoustic guitar strings and piano notes
before Williams’ warm and soothing voice reaches out to invite you inside for
hot cocoa and a blanket. This feels entirely appropriate for a Julia Donaldson Christmas
animation as the gently lilting rhythm and melodies put you in the festive mood
and the swelling arrangement makes you breathe that little bit deeper and relax
your bones back in to your favourite chair. Beautiful.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/KathrynWilliamsMusic
Meghan Trainor – A Very Trainor Christmas (Epic Records)
Meghan Trainor is getting to be
pop royalty now so it was about time she produced a Christmas tune but she’s gone
one better and put out a whole album of festive fayre. There are originals like
‘My King of Present’ and ‘I’ll Be Home’ which have a kind of Ariana Grande vibe
but sit nicely alongside covers of classics like ‘It’s Beginning To Look A Lot
Like Christmas’ and ‘Last Christmas’ which are fairly faithful but also very
Trainor. My highlight is the superbly swinging version of ‘White Christmas’
that brings Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane in on guest vocal duties for a
superb duet (seriously that guy can croon). Fair play, it’s a great set of tunes
both new and old with some well selected guests and that’s what you want at a
Christmas party, right?
More information: https://www.facebook.com/meghantrainorsongs
Various Artists – Christmas Rocks EP (Mascot Records)
If you’re sick of all the pop and
niceness in this Christmas list, then there are a couple of releases here that
might bring you back in. Firstly, the excellent Mascot Records have put
together a seven-track compilation of rocking Christmas songs. P.O.D. are up
first with ‘Christmas Lullaby’ which is pretty damn festive and easy on the
ears before Otherwise take on ‘Run, Rudolph, Run’ and now all I can picture is
a bunch of reindeer in a mosh pit. ‘Silent Night’ is given the full rock ballad
treatment by 10 Years and then ‘Dragged Under’ let rip a brutal but hilarious
attack on Christmas from the point of view of someone severely lacking in
festive cheer.
Crobot ‘What Child Is This’ to
the table along with a doom metal take on the traditional hymn while Ayreon
break out the mandolin and sleigh bells for ‘The Last Day Of War and the First
Day Of Peace’ which gets you in the mood for open fires and festive cheer. The
album closes out with Black Stone Cherry’s outstanding take on Elvis’ ‘Blue
Christmas’ and it’s a high octane take on a classic. Mascot Records and the all
the artists involved have pulled a blinder with this collection so get yourself
a copy and do some proper rocking around the Christmas tree.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/MascotRecordsRocks
The Pocket Gods – No Room at the (Holiday) Inn
Infamous noiseniks The Pocket Gods
have thrown their Santa’s hat into the ring with an entire album of Christmas
themed songs, ‘No Room at the (Holiday) Inn’. What follows is a bunch of lo-fi,
high energy, and maxim attitude songs with titles like ‘Stop the (Covid)
Cavalry’, ‘I Saw Mommy Doing Track & Trace’, ‘Fuck the Rules At Christmas’
and ‘Going Insane In A Sanitised World’. None of this is particularly festive
but in 2020 what else do you expect? ‘Surplus Population – Ode to Boris’ is a
favourite of mine with sampled speech and funky organs covering a steel fist in
a velvet glove.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/thepocketgods
Hanna Mia – Winter Songs EP
I think this EP might just
capture the heart of Christmas for me and so I should offer thanks to
Icelandic-Swedish singer-songwriter Hanna Mia. Inspired by the musical choices
of her 93 year old grandmother, Mia recorded this five track collection
starting with a stunningly beautiful piano version of ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’.
The ubiquitous ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ is given a lovely jazzy guitar
reworking while ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ is turned in to a husky folk tune
full of playful warmth. Mia’s warm, dusky voice is perfectly put to work on ‘Carol
of the Drum’ with rippling pianos and soft strings tones adding to the
ambience. The choice of Mia’s grandmother is a traditional Christmas Eve tune
called ‘Nu Tandas Tusen Juleljus’ which is new to me but is utterly, utterly beautiful.
Soft vocals, sprinkled melodic notes and a real sense of everything being shut
down to focus on family and friends for a few days. Merry Christmas to Hanna
and her grandmother – thank you both for this gift.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/hannamiamusic
Chris Keys – On This Christmas Night
Singer-songwriter Chris Keys has
penned an original composition for the festive season and ‘On This Christmas
Night’ is pleasingly cosy and inviting. Keys’ style is a bit Dylan and similar
to the Americana of Paul Armer but the key elements of a strumming guitar and
gravelly vocals make this a folky delight. You can almost picture the twinkling
lights, flickering candles and a real sense that ‘we made it’ as the repeated
refrain of “on this Christmas night” brings it on home.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/chriskeysofficial
The Kut – Waiting for Christmas
The first thing to say is that,
in this year of disasters for musicians, the Kut are giving 100% of the profits
of this track to the Red Cross Coronavirus Crisis Fund so that’s a good reason
to purchase this one. The main reason, however, is that it’s a big ol’ grungey
rock ballad with chimes and the kind of energy you might expect from Smashing
Pumpkins or Silverchair. Downtempo verses are countered with big choruses that
break out the strings and the backing vocals. There’s a moving video too so you
really need to get involved with ‘Waiting For Christmas’. Now.
More information:
The Kut – https://www.facebook.com/thekut
Red Cross Coronavirus Crisis Fund – https://waiting4christmas.com/?fbclid=IwAR3DuwkzF0YM9NLI9q60ggggcFIR7y4rLUf5ctfOG-Y7AZUqvVcQNOELyMI
Watch the Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhtOtn3Gzyc&feature=youtu.be
Traction x Miranda Myles x Master C – A Candle For Carson
Christmas can be a
heartbreakingly sad time of year for some people and this song captures that
perfectly. The idea behind this release was to cheer up a young lad called Carson
(aka the Blackburn Warrior) who was to undergo his seventh major heart surgery
of his short life but sadly Carson passed away on 17th November so this
song is now in his memory. ‘A Candle For Carson’ is a gorgeous and moving
ballad with the soulful and emotive vocals of Miranda Myles taking centre stage
atop a simple but powerful piano melody. If you don’t shed a tear watching this
and listening to the lyrics then you’re not really paying attention. Rest In
Peace Carson, your fight is over now.
More information:
Watch the Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dZfQfGzAjM&feature=youtu.be
Josie Cotton – Every Day Like Christmas (Kitten Robot Records)
There is a timeless quality to this tune and, indeed, to
Josie Cotton’s voice which makes this song hard to pin down. Nevertheless, ‘Every
Day Like Christmas’ has a lovely laid back pace to it that is given flourishes
by some sha-la-las and Cotton’s voice that has a bit of Dusty about it
(Springfield, not bin) while the organ goes for a walk and the guitars jangle
like the bells on Santa’s sleigh. You can almost picture this song wafting out
of one of LA’s cocktail lounges on Christmas Eve with Cotton’s voice acting as
a siren call to find you dashed on (whisky on) the rocks.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/JosieCotton
We Three Kings – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Well it’s a Christmas classic and it’s been covered a fair
few times but I’m pleased to say that this version follows the Bruce
Springsteen pattern more than any other. ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’ is
given a fresh airing with electric guitar and vocals only by the suitably
festive We Three Kings and it’s the kind of raw version you’d expect to be
ringing out of a load of pub doors at the end of Christmas parties around about
now. In fact, the only disconcerting thing about this is that the video
featuring a guitar toting Santa in sunglasses looks like a ransom video –
especially when he starts singing “you better watch out….”.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/we3kingsband
Watch the Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65OWpaHDeYY&feature=youtu.be
Stephanie Ryann – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
A gentle country version of a
classic Christmas song? Oh go on then. Westchester County’s own Stephanie Ryann
lends her dulcet tones to ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ which, along
with some gorgeous steel guitar work and a gentle acoustic strum, makes for an
absorbing and luxurious listen. This is one for the traditionalists who want something
familiar to wrap around them at the end of a hard year and Ryann’s voice is
certainly a great one to get wrapped up in.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/stephanieryannmusic
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