Although not all of us want to admit, we love Christmas songs. The problem has always been the cheesy pop nonsense that is usually regurgitated into the charts around December the 10th or X Factors totally unrelated song which attempts to sweep away the Christmas top spot. Hope has always lied in the lesser heard alternative artists that produce a Christmas track just for fun of it. American Store Target has got together with some of the newest and innovative artists across America to produce a free alternative Christmas compilation, complete with sleigh bells, Santa and snow.
Guster, although not new by any means, open the compilation with ‘Tiny Christmas Tree’ lyrically warming with “get behind perfect Christmas time” and “Holiday don’t ever go away”. Acoustically simplistic, it is filled with hand claps and a playful trumpet solo; truly surfer pop fun of the holiday season. Electro pop threesome Bishop Allen contribute by singing about the importance of finding a perfect hiding place for your Christmas gifts in ‘You’ll never find my Christmas’. The male and female duet on the track is really quite charming. Best Coast singer Bethany Cosentino and Wavves frontman Nathan Williams continue the dueting theme of the album with their offering of ‘Got Something for You’ playfully influenced by their surfer pop origins of the sunshine state. It is debatably the best track on the complication and a real Christmas winner.
Coconut Records, the solo work of Jason Schwartzman (Formally of Phantom Planet) offers ‘It’s Christmas’ to the compilation. “Stay with me tonight and we could wake up with a smile” describes his belief that Christmas is really worth the wait. With bells and a sound similar to the Thrills it continues the charming characteristic of the more acoustic tracks on the album. The collection isn’t all indie surfer pop though. Electro experts Blazer Force’s ‘Electornic Santa’ is a bizarre but pretty originally track to get the Christmas party off with a bang.
With 14 tracks ranging from RnB, Spanish language and indie surfer pop the collection is really something special this Christmas, and the best thing is it’s free! Released on the 28th of November it is free to download from here.
“Although not all of us want to admit, we love Christmas songs. ”
Speak for yourself. I hate them. All of them. Yes; all of them.
Not even a wry smile with a Christmas carol Neil?
thanks for letting me know about this song!!! more of this please, i dont know whether we can handle another slow and sombre x factor christmas song…sounds like the kinda song that would come out on the twilight saga christmas cd…?
Any christmas song that doesn’t remind me of bringing my own school dinner on a plate to school for our christmas party is a good christmas song in my book!!