Thea Gilmore - 'The St. Stephen's Day Murders'

Released in 2009, Thea Gilmore's Christmas collection Strange Communion is a gem of a record that never seems to receive the annual radio airplay it so richly deserves. This well-crafted collection of songs opens with the goose-bump inducing Sol Invictus, an ode to the Roman Sun God whose festival fell upon the 25th of December, includes a cover of Yoko Ono's Listen, The Snow Is Falling and takes in part of Louis MacNeice's Autumn Journal along the way.

As Christmas albums go I'll admit it's not your usual collection of festive sugar and cinnamon; there are no songs of magical snowmen or pleas for presents under the tree here, instead the songs have a refreshing feeling of a cold Winter about them, replete with observations on the family festivities that most all will find familiar.

One such ditty is a rousing cover of an Elvis Costello and Paddy Maloney song, the St. Stephen's Day Murders, which was written for The Chieftains' 1991 album The Bells of Dublin. This tale of drunken the-day-after-Christmas-Day hijinks, of too much Tia Maria and Irn Bru, of Gin-soaked whiskers and exploding televisions, is a suitably wry take on celebrations for the feast of St. Stephen as you would expect from Mr Costello. 

Thea's version of the song features the vocal talents of famed ex-Shirehorse and BBC Radio DJ Mark Radcliffe, his dry delivery balancing Ms. Gilmore's melodic vocals. If you've recovered from yesterday's over-indulgence, and need a tune to soundtrack your lunch of cold Turkey and baked potatoes, you could do no better than playing this to your loved ones.

Sigur Rós - 'ég fæ jólagjöf'

José Feliciano's 1970 song  'Feliz Navidad' is, according to the folks at Nielsen, the eighth most downloaded Christmas song in the US and Canada (placing it higher than Wham's Last Christmas but some several hundred thousand adrift of the number one spot where Mariah Carey sits). It's a catchy enough pop song, with simple repetitive lyrics, that bounces along with a saccharine cheeriness; tap your foot, reach for the Egg Nog, repeat until you don't care singing it aloud.

London alternative rockers Shame recently covered Feliz Navidad, producing a refreshingly shambolic take on the original that garnered praise when it aired on Steve Lamacq's Roundtable, but it's not the best cover of the song out there. Tucked away on SoundCloud, forgotten by me until the band tweeted a link to it yesterday, is Sigur Rós' suitably ethereal version of the song. 

Recorded live in a Reykjavik pub in 1999, replete with background chatter and digital pops, 'ég fæ jólagjöf' is a sombre, mournful, near unrecognisable variant on the original.



Admittedly it's not as catchy as the original, and it doesn't roll along as does Shame's cover, but it has its own dark kind of Christmas magic about it. This version would sit comfortably over the end credits of a Scandi-noir film or, better yet, provide fitting music for a slow tracking shot over the discarded cardboard from Amazon's festive ad campaign; the singing boxes silenced after their festive cargoes have been retrieved.

Too dark for Christmas Day? Well, maybe just a bit; if this hopelandic elegy isn't the Noisette Triangle in your box of festive chocs then maybe crank this up loud instead. 

Gazelle Twin - 'Gaudete/Silent Night'

Gazelle Twin is the operating persona of Elizabeth Bernholz, a producer and composer from Brighton who makes challenging sounds for discerning listeners. If you want an easy pop foot-tapper this will not be "your jam", lovers of Fever Ray and The Knife however will no doubt enjoy the dark beats, affected vocals and stage theatricality. Some may not warm to an avant-garde performance delivered by a costumed artiste but, of course, that's the point. 

After a year that saw the release of critically acclaimed fifth LP Pastoral, a dark reflection on proto-Brexit Britain that dug deeper into the country's two sided argument than The Good The Bad & The Queen's similarly themed sophomore release, Gazelle Twin has delivered a suitably vexing festive double-header.

DIRGE MMXVIII features brooding, menacing versions of Latin carol Gaudete and Franz Xaver Gruber & Joseph Mohr's Silent Night. Steeleye Span's 1973 version of Gaudete is festive staple, appearing on a surfeit of playlists and compilation albums, though I'm rather partial to the Pure Reason Revolution take from a few years back.

Neither version here may be traditionally festive, their aural darkness perhaps better suited as soundtrack music to an Inside Number 9 Christmas special, but they are both intriguing additions to your yuletide playlist.

Stealing Sheep - 'Wonderful Christmastime'

Some years ago, after a last minute rain-check from a chum, I found myself staring into a half-full pint glass in a pub on Albert Road, contemplating whether or not to have another beer before venturing into The Wedgewood Rooms to see Villagers. Erring on the side of caution I decided to gauge my decision on who the support act were; after a brief foray online I finished my beverage, exited the pub, and directed my feet to the venerable Southsea venue where I very much enjoyed Stealing Sheep's support set.

Two LPs, several singles and a few years later the Liverpool trio remain a consistently innovative and entertaining band, producing interesting and melodic electro-pop. The band are due to release their third long player in the new year but, for Christmas and specially recorded for Stuart Maconie & Mark Radcliffe's BBC Radio 6 Music afternoon show,  they've released a suitably electro cover of Macca's Wonderful Christmastime.

Paul McCartney's 1979 festive classic is twee pop gem which consistently divides opinion at this time of year. Love it or loathe it you will hear it at some point over the holiday season. Stealing Sheep's cover gifts the song with a mellow electronica vibe, delicate vocals and some welcome synth drum sounds.



The song will be available for download, at a pay-your-own-price rate, until Boxing Day so if you want to pep up your festive playlist with something interesting be sure not to hesitate.

The Flaming Lips - 'Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy'

What song tenuously links The Man Who Fell To Earth, The Sound of Music, a crooner who had a penchant for golf and a bunch of psychedelic musical miscreants from Oklahoma? Any guesses? No? Well, obviously it's that festive favourite The Little Drummer Boy.

Written in 1941, and first recorded by the Trapp Family Singers some ten years later, The Little Drummer Boy has been covered by the likes of Joan Baez, New Kids On The Block, Marlene Dietrich, The Dandy Warhols and Jimi Hendrix. Of all the covers though the most famous and more peculiar takes on the song, notable for the pairing of the talents involved, is that recorded by Bing Crosby and David Bowie in 1977 for the former's final television special.

Bowie and Bing's version of the song interweaves Peace on Earth, written specifically for their television duet, and became something of a hit when it was released in 1982. The single peaked at number 3 in the UK Charts, becoming one of Bowie's best-selling singles, and I have the 7" of it safely stored here in a record box. It's weird but it's also rather sweet, this meeting of an old hand at the game and a performer who constantly and consistently reinvented himself. 

It's this version of the song that American psych-rockers The Flaming Lips have covered as their 2018 Christmas song, sprinkling it with their brand of Oklahoma magic and accompanying it with a suitably trippy video (co-directed by frontman Wayne Coyne) that could easily be an excerpt of a sequel to Santa Claus Conquers The Martians, starring Roy Wood, that would play back in my mind if I reach for the festive Absinthe.

A joyously bonkers take on a classic, reworked as only the Lips can, which might not be as far out there as the video would suggest though would sit well amongst a suitably alternative yuletide playlist.

Husky Loops - 'Huskmas (Husky Christmas)' Mix

At Christmas it is better to give than to receive, an old adage I'll admit but one that still holds true. No matter if you're not religious, or so jaded by excessive commercialisation that your humbug is set to Maximum Bah, the simple joy of seeing someone's face light up when they receive a present fair warms the heart (even that of a beardy curmudgeon like me). It doesn't have to be a big gift, a nice gift or even a physical gift; a hug perhaps, a smile or, better yet, a virtual mixtape (it's Christmas so forgive the tedious preamble).

London-based electro-indie-rock trio Husky Loops have had a fun-packed year spent recording, releasing new music and touring the UK & mainland Europe (including a stopover at Reykjavik's Iceland Airwaves Festival), finding time to sign for Danger Mouse's 30th Century Records along the way. They're a talented bunch of very nice chaps, and I'm not just saying that because they were excellent when I caught them at Southampton's legendary Joiners in February (even though they were), who I expect to hear a lot more of in 2019.

To wrap up what has been, in their own words, "an incredible year for Husky Loops" the trio have conjured up a mix, featuring a new song of theirs and a hand-picked selection of festive favourites, and posted it to SoundCloud (a note of caution, the mix will only be available until New Year's Eve).  



It's a nice pre-drinks mix of tunes, with maybe a song or two that you've not heard of (or not heard in awhile), so pour yourself an Egg Nog and enjoy.

Jonnie Common - 'Yippee-Ki-Yay Father Christmas'

One of the joys of occasionally working from home, alongside avoiding the daily commute and gaining easier access to a supply of good coffee, has been the ability to fully savour Lauren Laverne's excellent morning show on BBC 6Music. Between 1000 and 1300, when I'm WFH, it feels as though a muso chum has popped in for a cup of coffee, have a bit of a chat and listen to some good tunes. To say I popped a Villanelle pout when the station announced a shake-up of its daytime programming is something of an understatement (but change is both a good and constant thing, isn't it?).

The People's Playlist is a regular Thursday feature of the show, playing a selection of tracks suggested by listeners that fit that week's selected theme. This week's TPP sought 'Christmas songs that you don't hear on the radio' (which, typically, I missed the announcement of so couldn't suggest this, this or especially this), resulting in a fine selection of offbeat and unusual tunes all interspersed with dialogue from some suitably festive films. 

One of these films regularly splits opinion as to whether it really is a Christmas movie or not. Yes, I am indeed referring to the 1988 feel-good classic, Die Hard. If you're of the mindset that Die Hard isn't a Christmas movie then, obviously, you are wrong. It is, very much so. If you've never heard of or seen the film then allow me to provide some details; Die Hard is a heart-warming tale of a man called John who visits his estranged wife, Holly, and their two children for the holidays. Unfortunately their chance to reconnect is interrupted by a team of international terrorists, intent on ruining everyone's plans with a surfeit of guns, some C4 and a rocket launcher. John has to save the day armed only with a string vest, a red Sharpie, some pithy one-liners and a heck of a lot of bullets. 

See, I told you, Christmassy. 

Characters reference Egg Nog, Rudolph and Frosty, plus the soundtrack has two choice Xmas songs. Heck, it's even spun off a kid's book it's THAT festive. To be honest, given my liking of the film (which I watched, again, at the weekend) it was something of a surprise to realise, during The People's Playlist, that someone had written a Christmas song about the film, a song that I hadn't heard; how was this even possible?

Scottish musician Jonnie Common's Yippee-Ki-Yay Father Christmas tells the story of Die Hard in three and a half minutes, delicately enforcing the festive message of the movie and making fists with your toes a sing-along line. It tackles John's character flaws and his predilection for sleeveless under-garments, as well as sombrely recognising the sacrifice one of the supporting characters makes. It's a gem of a song and I'm frankly amazed I've not heard it before now.



Yippee-Ki-Yay Father Christmas came out in 2016, the flip side of a split Die Hard themed 7" released to raise funds for "charities which protect the NHS, support migrants, refugees, victims of rape and domestic abuse, and those who suffer physical or mental disabilities", all causes which sadly need our support in these cold and bitter times.

Discovering this song via Lauren Laverne's show may have reminded me that the world is a scary place, and that not everyone has their John McClane to save the day, but there are thankfully enough people out there who help to make a change just by doing what they do, whether it be writing and performing a song or simply by sharing said song's message across the airwaves. A thank you then to Jonnie Common for this tune, to whoever suggested it for The People's Playlist, and for Lauren and team for playing it. Now I have a Die Hard Christmas song to listen to.. Ho! Ho! Ho!

AK/DK - 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)'

Despite my current curmudgeonly take on the Festive season I am, most definitely, a lover of that particular genre, the Christmas single. I also, it must be said, am rather partial to a cover version. Both these peccadilloes are, for some, tantamount to favouring both the Toffee Penny and the Peanut Cracknel in a musical box of Quality Street but that's just how it is. 

Good for me then that this landed in my mailbox this morning; Brighton's drum & synth duo AK/DK have covered the classic John & Yoko tune, Happy Xmas (War Is Over), spinning a dystopian take on the 1971 original. This version, which I can picture Marvin The Paranoid Android humming to himself as it positions another spaceship in Milliways' parking bay, serves as a fitting riposte to the Internet-splitting Miley Cyrus & Mark Ronson cover (the busy production of which flavours it more as a power ballad).



Obviously both of these versions have their merits, with the Miley & Mark cover also featuring the involvement of Sean Ono Lennon, but I feel I have to go with AK/DK's effort out of the two; it has a level of electronic quirk that appeals to me. If you're partial to a cover at Christmas, and want to hear a different version again of this classic tune, then I highly recommend giving the Boy George & Antony Hegarty cut a listen.

Son of Dave - 'Send Them Something Nice For Christmas'

Several years ago, following an admittedly confusing conversation regarding the name of the musical act a chum had cajoled me into seeing, I found myself standing in the compact and bijou confines of The Cellars (RIP) watching a behatted Canadian make melody and rhythm via a collection of microphones, harmonicas and pedals (to jaw-dropping effect).

The cat in the hat was Benjamin Darvill, one-time harp & mandolin player for the Crash Test Dummies, who performs beat-box powered Blues under the moniker Son of Dave (the name causing my initial confusion that I was being dragged along to an Andrew Ridgeley covers band). So good was Son of Dave that night I plundered the Merch Desk for a CD, delighting at the collaboration with Martina Topley-Bird that featured upon it.

Son of Dave has been ploughing his Blues furrow for a while now, becoming a near staple at Bestival in the process, but he's finally done what all good artists do at this time of year; he's made a Christmas song. Send Them Something Nice For Christmas is a beautifully melancholic tale, sprinkled with brass and sounding not unlike something Randy Newman might serve up (which is no bad thing at all). It's dour yet heart-warming, a last slow dance at the office Xmas party, a sad card to family far away, and sends apologies for missing another Turkey dinner but wants to be remembered for next year's festivities. 

It's nicely unexpected and really rather lovely.



Now, where did I put the Baileys?

Curxes - 'I Believe in Father Christmas'

If I didn't know better I'd say there were Elves on the Isle of Wight, escaped from the North Pole to fashion festive electronica and ambient sounds, for it's from across the water that this suitably Yuletide gem hails. 

From their Vectis base Curxes have taken on Greg Lake's 1975 Christmas tune, I Believe In Father Christmas, and created a beautifully delicate, dark and melancholy version of a classic.




Curxes have form for spinning a dark Christmas cover, their version of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, recorded several years back for the excellent Breaking More Waves blog, is also well worth a listen/purchase.