| | El Toro is not from Liverpool, in spite of the name of the single. They're actually domestic. But, when the Power Pop band set out to record a Christmas single this year, they thought, well, why not emulate one of the greatest and most influential bands ever and that wonderful Abbey Road studios sound? We've all heard the Fab Four and other Beatle-esque holiday bands, but this is something else entirely (in my humble opinion). And quite frankly, I think El Toro pulls it off quite nicely. It's more about the George Martin styled production and effects than anything. But both "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "O Holy Night" have that rich, full, psych infused Abbey Road sound. For my money (which, you know, its a free single so...), "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" works from start to finish. "O Holy Night", in some of the early moments, sounds a bit gimmicky, but finishes triumphant. In a mixtape, I'd be more likely to use the former. Two cool songs from a cool band and its free from Noisetrade. And, if you like what you hear, last year's El Toro Christmas song, "Merry Christmas Everybody" is still free on Soundcloud or Noisetrade (though not in the Abbey Road style, per se). |
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 If these great tunes keep showing up, I might have to do another disc of Stubby's House Christmas music. Here's some pretty sweet Fuzz Pop from Australia's Sunday Reeds, "Christmas In The Summertime". The group describes their sound as "Marianne Faithful fronting The Gun Club". Got it.
Soul Shop is a Massachusetts recording studio--all analog. For the second year in a row, Soul Shop gathered up as much of the local talent as they could to cut a holiday album. The New Lights are the Soul Shop house band, and they're joined on the album by a long long list of musicians and vocalists from area bands (if you want to see who is playing/singing on each track, click the "info" buttons). "Christmas Alone With You", unlike its predecessor, contains mostly original material. And the songs range from Americana to Soulful shuffles, to straight up Rock. You'll have to seek out your own favorites, but mine were "Haven't Seen You Since The Summer", which sounds like a 70s soul number, and the Bluesy "Cold Weather Man". Having lived in Massachu for a bit, it was also cool listening to "(It's Not Christmas) 'Til It Snows In Boston" (with Jeremy Lee Given on vocals and keys). And the cover songs, "Jesus Christ" and "Holiday Road" are both excellent. "Christmas Alone With You" is a free Bandcamp download. Once you've checked that, you might want to have a listen to 2013's "Last Month Of The Year". They made 30 hard copy CDs of that one. Though I can't say if any of the CDs remain, the digital download of "Last Month Of The Year" is also free.
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.  "Shout For Joy" is from Contemporary Christian artist Lincoln Brewster's 2012 album "Joy To The World". It's an energetic and passionate Pop Rocker worthy of any playlist. Now through December 31st, you can cop a free download of "Shout For Joy" in exchange for your email address on the Louder Than The Music web site.  Some days I get in a mood. I can be unforgiving. I'll be cruising the free download spots and its like "if you don't grab my attention in the first ten seconds, I'm outta here." Truthfully, that's how radio programmers work (I mean to the extent that radio programmers do their own work and don't farm it out to a consulting company...who can be even bigger bastards). Just, you know, so you're warned.
Anyway, that's how it was tonight, pretty much. First song I made it all the way through (and thus worthy of being featured here today) was Heather Jeanette's "It's Not Christmas Without You". The song is basically a Pop song (not that there's anything wrong with that), but not a Bubblegum or Disney song. Production values were certainly top notch. Subject matter's pretty much been done to death. Two things, though. Heather's got a great voice that she uses well. And the song itself, and the overall sound--I could hear that song, that sound, in pretty much any format...from Indie Rock to Country all the way to Radio Disney and everything in between. (And it doesn't hurt that she looks cute in a Santa hat. Just sayin'.) There's not a doubt in my mind that Heather's got a promising future and I just like to get on a bandwagon early while I can still pick out a good seat. So I went straight to Facebook and "Liked" her. Yes, I did. Heather's worked with some pretty big names, with the biggest listed being Kelly Clarkson, and she's currently writing songs for her debut album. In addition to her original, "It's Not Christmas Without You", Heather's also dropped a cover of "Little Drummer Boy". Both are free via Soundcloud.  Everybody claims to be the Fifth Beatle, but Joe Algeri was the 7th and three-quarters Beatle. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Though I don't have quite the history with Joe's annual Christmas songs that I do with Sofia Talvik's (it would be rude to link to that piece, here), he's been making them for many years, now, and I do look forward to them quite a bit. You see, Joe's annual Christmas songs are the surprise present under the tree. Sure, you got socks and underwear over there, that one's going to be a sweater, and I'm pretty sure this one over here is a board game. But, with Joe Algeri's presents, you never know what the hell its going to be. Might be your very own personal remote controlled drone. Or it might be fruitcake. You never know until you open it. Recording as (with?) The JAC (and featuring The Christmas Crew), Joe's song this year is "Sweet Tooth Ache". Picking up where he and the rest of the Beatles left off (they can't sue me for that, can they?), Joe shows he was paying attention and knows exactly how to use sitars and tamburas in Power Pop. Pretty awesome stuff. It's Joe's best Christmas song since the last one (which was pretty damned awesome, too). And as an extra special bonus, Joe gives you some insights into the recording process which makes my sad attempt at humor, here, seem no better than a pathetic Bazooka Joe comic wrapped around some stale gum. Let's just make this easy: Joe's a genius. And he's done done it again. Grab "Sweet Tooth Ache" by The Jac at Bandcamp.  Two additional notes here which, I mean, I can't believe our good luck here--it's like finding a $50 gold piece lying at your front door. In recent years, Joe's Christmas treats have been included in the compilations from "Rock Against Bulls#@t" (yeah, that's really a thing). And "Merry Rock Against Bulls#@t, Vol. 9" has just hit the virtual streets, as well. If I get time, later, I'll do a write-up for that. But don't wait for me (I'm notoriously unreliable); its there for you to be had--right now and free--on Bandcamp.
But wait, there's more. As I told you, Joe's been crankin' out the Christmas hits for quite some time. And, in 2012, he put them all together in a Bandcamp comp, "I See Things Differently". Here, you'll find such should be underground classics as "Santa All I Want (Is Cindy Brady)" and (a personal favorite...fer realz) "Yuletide Heroine Blues". And he's practically giving it away. No, wait. He IS giving it away. It's the whole kit (and at least half a kaboodle). It's even got color virtual cover art (in case the earlier cover art had you thinking that black and white were the only ones he knows). Grab it like its hot, cats and kittens. Grab it all.  Of all the towns I've ever visited, my favorite was probably Louisville. Among other things, Louisville is overflowing with top quality artists in any imaginable genre. And, IIRC, there's a strip of bars and you could go up and down the street dropping in and out of a dozen or more different musical worlds. I enjoyed that very much.
Anyway, A Lion Named Roar is a Louisville band, and they make a righteous sound. They call it Western Pop. But, whatever you call it, its nearly irresistible. Its the kind of a sound that would fit either hit or album oriented formats. A Lion Named Roar grabs you immediately and doesn't let go. I gather the Christmas celebration in Louisville is called Light Up Louisville and "Leave The Lights On" was a holiday anthem A Lion Named Roar created for last year's celebration. You can find "Leave The Lights On" at Noisetrade. And you can stream their 2012 EP "Foreign Land" on the band's website and buy it on Amazon. It's a really stellar outing guaranteed to leave you wanting more. |
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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