For the title alone, I was going to like this one. Sisters is a three piece Indie Rock band from across the pond. Ireland to be precise. "Hold Me Closer Tiny Christmas" isn't really indicative of their usual sound, but it has an hypnotic Indie Pop flavor. More often, Sisters Rock it. NME spoke glowingly of their "bratty riffs and snarky vocals" and they're definitely gaining a following. So check out "Hold Me Closer Tiny Christmas"--it's free to download--and then check out more from the band on Soundcloud. There's always room for one more on the bandwagon.
 Alright. Now we're talking! Irish Punk! The Lee Harveys' "Christmas Time In Dublin" is one half of a split single. The B-side is "Fisticuffs On Boxing Day" from Paranoid Visions. The latter is classic Punk (and why has no one thought of Boxing on Boxing Day before?), featuring an expletive or two. But the A-side is accessible to a wider stream of Rock fans, I think. It's got a nice melody underneath the bombast, and melody is not generally something associated with Punk.
The driving force behind The Lee Harveys is Bitzy Fitz, who fronted the Punk band The Strougers in the 70s, headlining gigs where a young U2 were the opening act. When The Strougers split up, Bitzy went about the business of raising a family. Nearly 30 years after laying his guitar down, he picked it up again, started writing songs again and, before you knew it, The Lee Harveys were born. Bitzy appears to have as much energy as ever but the added musical savvy that comes with age and experience. Check out the band's full-length "Gun City" for the full Bitzy and Lee Harveys experience. Download the split single on Bandcamp.  Well, I've found a Christmas song (2 actually), from an Irish band, that hasn't been featured on Ceol Collective (formerly 2 U I Bestow) yet. That's nigh on impossible to do.
Paddy Nash & The Happy Enchiladas are from Derry, to be specific, and they'll happily flavor their Folk with whatever other genre a song may call for. "It Being Christmas And All" has a great Folk Rock flavor and there's even a really nice crying guitar break and what sounds like a bit of synth brass. The song tells the tale of a (supposedly) reformed miserable sod trying to beg his way back into the life of the lady he lost. "I've done all my gambling, I've done all my drinking I don't even smoke anymore. Would you take me back, take me back It being Christmas and all." The virtual flip is a Folk-ish ballad, "A Place At The Table". And it sounds like the other half of the story. She sings of the heartache and tears her man has caused her. And, while she's not really ready to forgive and forget, she misses him...and more so at Christmas. She hates that she misses him...but she does. So, "if you find the courage...there'll be a place at the table for you". Great stuff. Grab these two Christmas songs from Paddy Nash & The Happy Enchiladas. Use the widgets above or head on over to Soundcloud. And don't forget to stop by Facebook and let Paddy and the band know we're listening over here.  I've been looking for a way to mention that one of my favorite non-holiday blogs, 2 U I Bestow, seems to have changed their name to Ceol Collective (same url, new name). Saturday, they shared this beautiful song by Wyvern Lingo so...perfect, 2 birds with one stone, eh?
I'd be inclined to describe the Irish group Wyvern Lingo as Alt Folk or even Progressive Folk. But their own description is much better: "If Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young grew up listening to Destiny's Child and Jeff Buckley was their Da." I don't think I'm going to add all that the the genre sidebar, but still...very well put. The three lovely lasses who make up Wyvern Lingo are weary of hearing people talk about their "potential" and seem ready to kick it into high gear, so to speak. "Snow" is just one song from their most recent EP, "The Widow Knows", and you can get the whole set free from Bandcamp. |
The FREE ListHere we hope to direct you to some of the Christmas music on the web that can be yours absolutely free. We will not direct you to mp3 or sharity sites, here, but only to artist sites, label sites, and other authorized and unquestionably legal locations. Archives2010 FREE List Categories
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