Category: Indie Pop

Stubbys House of Christmas

DESMOND WOLF - SPENDING CHRISTMAS WITH YOU

12/16/2014

Desmond Wolf is a musician(ish) from Cardiff (Wales). Beyond that, the Internets are drawing a blank. There's a Desmond Wolf who joined MySpace in 2004 (does anybody use MySpace anymore?), but the tracks there seem to be instrumentals so I can't really connect them. I think it goes without saying that its highly unlikely this Desmond Wolf is the wrestler.

That said, "Spending Christmas With You" has a nice Indie Pop Rock sound. It may be too early to think about New Years but, a bit further down the Desmond Wolf Soundcloud feed is an equally nice tune--this one in an Indie Folk Pop vein, "Another Year". That one's from 2012. Desmond's got a pretty nice sense of how his music should sound. Hopefully, he'll set up a fer realz website in the coming year.

DAVI REY & FRIENDS - A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

12/16/2014

Davi Rey & friends won me over with their lightly Jazz/Blues seasoned "Away In A Manger", Erica Stephens taking the vocals, and cinched it with the sweet and spiritual a cappella closer--"Go Tell It On The Mountain" featuring the Merimanders. Anything else is gravy.

Davi Rey and his friends all hail from the Lewiston/Auburn Maine area. Though you can certainly choose to download "A Very Merry Christmas" free, keep in mind that all proceeds from the set will go to The Root Cellar, a Community outreach organization in Lewiston. 25% of the residents of Lewiston live below the poverty line. The Root Cellar offers food and other services, all while working to lift them up emotionally and spiritually. Just sayin'.

THE SEVERN UKES - (DON'T BUY A) UKELELE FOR CHRISTMAS

12/15/2014

"(Don't Buy A) Ukelele For Christmas" is a cautionary tale from the Severn Ukes. Sure, it seems like a good idea at the time, but all those sleepless nights while the gift getter practices, practices, practices will have you regretting it.

The Severn Ukes are an eight-piece UK Uke band. Their delightful Christmas song can be downloaded from their website for free. All the band asks is that you "Like" them on Facebook and maybe leave a comment letting them know how you like the song. Fair enough.

And, in fairness, don't blame the band for the "cover art" which was my own concoction, using their logo and a picture of "Truman" from their Facebook site (Truman looks like a distant relative of Mrs. Katz...not her real name).

FREDRIK MAGNUSSON - NO CHRISTMAS

12/15/2014

As usual, I've been sifting through piles of crap Christmas tunes, tonight, figuring there's got to be a pony in there somewhere. Dig long enough, you'll find something worth sharing.

I love the Alt Country/Indie Pop sound on "No Christmas (Until You're Coming Home)". Sounds like something that would have been cut in the early 60s. Very cool. The lyrics feel a bit clunky at times, but the sound is so tremendous the song easily overcomes that. Couldn't find out anything about Fredrik Magnusson, except that he's Swedish (I'm starting to think Magnusson is in Sweden what Smith and Jones are in America). Don't care. Love it.

"No Christmas (Until You're Coming Home)" is a free download on Soundcloud. There's an earlier Fredrik Magnusson Christmas song at the bottom of his Soundcloud feed. "First Christmas" is from 2012, but you can still download it free if you're so inclined.

COMMON UNION 59 - YOU & ME / THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

12/15/2014

CommonUnion59 is the San Francisco duo of Steve McKenzie and Laura Malasig. A chance meeting spurred an avalanche of musical inspiration. They began writing music, drawing on influences as diverse as Indie Rock and Delta Blues, their Indie Folk performances are only matched by their songwriting. Their 2012 debut, "Magnolia Waltz", featured the enchanting Americana of the title track, the political power of "Too Big To Fail Blues", the Sunshine Pop of "Tonight" and so much more, offering promise as bright as the spring. As the pair work on a new album, CommonUnion59 have gifted us with not one but two Christmas tracks. "The Spirit Of Christmas" is written as the more traditional holiday song featuring a bigger sound and a sing-a-long chorus. I favor "You And I", which is a bit more intimate Indie Folk Pop. But there's no need to choose between them as both are available for free download at their web site or via Soundcloud.

VARIOUS - A POLAROID FOR CHRISTMAS (2014)

12/14/2014

01) Flying Vaginas - Santa Bring Me A Dinosaur
02) Baseball Gregg - Rebel Without A Claus
03) Burnt Palms - You
04) New Adventures In Lo-Fi - Temptation
05) Slow Shot - Shining All Night
06) The Mumble Jackson - Darling
07) Barbados - The Fall
08) Machweo - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
09) Setti - Crauti
10) Skelets On Me - Love
11) Le Man Avec Les Lunettes - I'll Be Home for Christmas
12) Neverending Mojitos - Cooking Up Something Good
13) Osc2x - Dreaming Of A Wild Christmas
14) Winter Dies In June - Winter Dies In June
15) Neverwhere - Christmas Eve Lonesome Bitterness Blues

One of my favorite presents every Christmas is the one with a big musical bow on it from the Italian blog Polaroid. Every year, their humble blog host invites bands to submit a song for the holiday season. It could be a Christmas or seasonal song or just a song to keep you company while you trim the tree. It's always a glistening, sparkling collection of Indie Pop and Rock, most of which you won't find anywhere else.

Every year, at least a few of these songs will captivate me and become among my favorites for the year. For me, this year's highlights are mostly on the back half. Though not properly a Christmas song, I loved Skelets On Me's cover of John Lennon's "Love". Le Man Avec Les Lunettes sound almost Lennon like on "I'll Be Home For Christmas". Machweo's spacey Ambient Psych "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (which is actually "Let It Snow") is plenty amazing and entrancing (listen to it while staring at the cover art for full effect). And the two numbers closing the set, "Winter Dies In June" and "Christmas Eve Lonesome Bitterness Blues" are my favorites of all (if not the cheeriest). Head to the Polaroid web site for the full download. Poke around a bit and find the earlier volumes, which (if nothing's changed since last year) should all still be available.

OWL CITY - KISS ME BABE, IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME

12/14/2014

I've known about this single for more than a few weeks, but there wasn't anywhere to buy, download or stream. But, yesterday, the new Owl City Christmas song, "Kiss Me Babe, It's Christmas Time", popped up everywhere...and free! It's a delightful concoction for a marshmallow world. Owl City is the Synth Pop project of Minnesota's Adam Young. Adam seems to be able to crank out these sweet little pieces of Indie Pop gold at will. We've had an awful lot of anti-Christmas songs this year and the year, itself, has been pretty dark. So a bright and bouncy tune like "Kiss Me Babe, It's Christmas Time" is most welcome. Use the Soundcloud widget above to download. Or google it. I'm telling you, its everywhere.

TIMES INFINITY - KRAMPUS BABY

12/14/2014

It was bound to happen. We've had "Santa Baby", "Santa Buddy", and "Hanukkah Honey". Finally, someone has given us "Krampus Baby". Krampus is sort of the anti_santa Claus. You know, if you've been good, Santa gives you toys. But Krampus comes and drags the bad little boys and girls deep into the forest (presumably eating them?). Our friends at Lie In The Sound had a whole gathering of Krampus tunes last year.

In this song from Portland's Times Infinity, the singer is pleading with Krampus to take his/her sister instead. She's the bad seed after all. And, "next year, with your hooks and your claws, perhaps you'll take an interest in Ma and Pa." It's slyly funny like that throughout. By the way, the big day for Krampus is December 5th. So, if you're reading this, you should be safe for another year.

"Krampus Baby" purports to be from Volume 2 of "A Festive Odyssey" but, as yet, its the only song listed. However, that shouldn't stop you from picking up Volume One, which is also free at Bandcamp.

YOU DO YOU - WE NEED A LITTLE XMAS

12/14/2014

Bout time some Indie band took a stab at re-imagining this Christmas song. Philadelphia's You Do You give the song a bit of a Dream Pop/Electro Pop feel which helps cleanse my ears of the Pop singer caterwauling "We Need A Little Christmas" is usually subjected to. The group's more frequent sound is a more soulful Pop Rock, but I'm glad they took the take on this one that they did. Download it free (or pay what you want) at Bandcamp.

GABI DiPACE and JACOB BRAMOS - CHRISTMAS DREAM

12/11/2014

Growing up in southern Florida, Gabi DiPace is used to warm and sunny Christmases. So a sunshiny Indie Pop Christmas song featuring a ukelele just seems natural to her. But even in the colder climes, I'm guessing a little holiday warmth is most welcome. We've had an awful lot of anti-Christmas and dark Christmas music this season (things that make you go hmm). Time to try and balance the scales a little bit. Even though "Christmas Dream" was released last year, its still free via Noisetrade. And lord knows we can use the sunshine.