Category: altrock

No real significance to the year notation, Jeff Kelly wishes love to Jane (and Tess) on “Christmas 1995.” Between the lines, i figger. Pretty altrock full of altemotion.

Reindeer Brother ask us to consider the four inch tall “Brother Reindeer.” Dour pop with an insistent electric organ through line. Maybe not really a reindeer after all. Four stars.

More Dasher, please!

Opaque poetry about “Dasher” from Gerard Way includes flying, waitresses, and loverly devotion. But the dreamy alt-rock hard pop soothes whilst it confuses. Enjoy.

More than a Beatles’ place holder, the aspirational aspiration of agreement herein marks an all-in vote for the holidays.

Robbie Williams starts the show with a swingin’ show-stopper “Yeah! It’s Christmas.” This IS the stuff.

Wait, what about weird? Tristan Gianelli experimentally rocks and reverbs “Christmas Yeah.” Yeah wins.

Tampa Stan has a ‘goodie’ about Xmas “Yeah, God’s Like That.” Beach bum rap for Xmas. Spooky.

“Yeah, I Know It’s Christmastime” is the angsty cry of the existential millennial Andrew Dost. Then a deep reflective dive. And all is good. What a journey!

Channeling Harry Nilsson, Todd McHatton successfully celebrates “Yeah Merry Christmas” with all the proper pop.

Sage Hill alt-countries a fun folk anthem “Yeah It’s Christmas.” Yeah.

Ikoliks Afro-pops “Yeah It’s Christmas” like they’re in church and you need to save your soul with this.

The Great Collections (??) lets loose with multiple yeahs in “Yeah It’s Christmas.” a retro nostalgic pop psychedelic easy-listening mish mash. Love it.

Leon, James, Alex, Luke, and Leon may not take “Yeah Yeah Christmas!” seriously, but that’s the song. Pop frolics.

Then there’s musical wallpaper, a backdrop for the mood of the room. “Christmas Yeah Yeah” barely qualifies as a song, but it sets the tone for the will-he/won’t-he tension of the holiday get-together.

Find the cure with garage rockabilly in the body of “It’s Christmas (Yeah Yeah Yeah)” from the Gorgons. Ouch. (In the good way.)

“Yeah Yeah (It’s Christmas)” is the alt-rock fun of bebopping AND there’s a song in there. Dams of the West play for fun.

When will the repeating Xmasses end? Never, that’s the point.

“Another Very Darko Christmas” is not so much rap as monologuing about the wrongs done to Jumbled (feat. Darko the Super) over the years. Huh?

Hepcat bongo insistence marks “Go Trim Another Tree.” James Apollo has my attention. Blues? Rockabilly? Show tune? Don’t come ’round here–at all.

“Another Christmas” by Amanda Jenssen is a pokey cowboy jazz number about missing the Rudolph out of you. (Wait–threesome?) Blowzy blues.

More experimental altrock. Time slows and speeds with the vertiginous tempo of Tan LeRacoon’s “Just Another Christmas Wish.” Not sure if this is sad or hopeful… Wish for more wishes!!

Christmas songs about another Christmas… encore!

Rotten Apple Trees get [BLUE ALERT] raunchy in “Another Christmas Song.” Folky rock bitches about the contractural obligation of ponying up another tune, so it’s an F-word fiesta. But short.

British ‘humour’ from Sam Trotman begs not to hear “Another Crappy Christmas Song.” Yet his music hall ukulele fun is infectious. I’d go one more.

Just as mean, “Another God Damn Christmas Song” takes the season to task for the overspending, over-consuming, overly wintry times. Irreverent Reverends actually entertain with restraint and catchy pop jingling. Watch the over tambourining!

How much more romantic can the nearness of Christmas get a couple? Buckle up, buttercup.

Alive in Tucson is garage-ing about that KISS. That’s all he wants when “It’s Almost Christmas.” Head banging lip locking time wasting.

Charlie Russell is also after some smoocheroos with the pop-effort “It’s Nearly Christmas.” A ’70s throwback that nearly treads water.

Tom Dyer is heading toward Paradise in the electric piano plonking “Christmas (It’s Around the Corner).” This also-nostalgic for the ’70s twiddler takes it romantic strategies from teen movies. Disarming. (This is my Rosarch; when i hear the Nilsson influence i melt.)

I’ll admit to watching the first season of Stranger Things, but was so racked by how glacial and derivative it was that i pretended i never did.

But, gotta tell ya, Ingrid Michaelson’s ‘borrowing’ of the “Christmas Lights” bit from that show to tell a tale of romantic hardship goes a whole ‘nother dimension of weird. It’s a fun alt-lite number, and i completely dig the animated video made for it, but please don’t have hype-culture inspire anything but humorous songs! Please!

The Xmas lights were shining when you were in love, the Xmas lights were still shining when you broke up. Turn off the damn lights.

Pushing our boy to the limit, Trevor Fett wants out with the melodic rap “Christmas Lights Magenta.” I coulda told you, those girls who want a rocket ship are to be avoided at all high costs.

Singing while you were walking away, The Kingdom of McChicken wears their garage folk on their sleeves in the shadows of “Christmas Lights.” Sounds like a Wes Anderson movie scene.

Coldplay goes even softer alt with their poisonous breakup “Christmas Lights.” That’ll show her, boys.

When she’s gone, put up the “Blue Light Christmas Tree.” It reminds Steven John Tillotson of her, so–painful, but pop blues.

Missing her, Salvador Buttersworth wishes she could help him decide what was real when “I Thought I Saw the Christmas Lights from Adel.” It’s a whole alt thing.

Wishing for the makeup after the breakup Keegan DeWhitt & The Sparrows toss up some “Christmas Lights” of Hope. Gentle alt-pop, ‘cuz that’s woo-thy.

The true course of Xmas lights ne’er did run smooth. Sometimes they tangle up, just like love ’round the holidays.

Tangled up, is the theme for the stand-offish love ballad “Christmas Lights in June.” Patrick McGlynn is not all in for this romance, despite his somewhat passionate alt-pop

Garage music love is not like regular love, perhaps more intense, perhaps more cazh. Samurai Tiger’s “Christmas Lights” paces between the two with awkward lyrics.

Doomed love from Levi Altar with the pretty pop guitar pickings and modulated commercial announcement-voice in “The Lights.” Unrequited hollerin’.

Calmer, Slowly Slowly metaphorizes the lover as the lights you take for granted. Alt-declamatory, “Christmas Lights” takes us for an advanced poetry course of angst. Some anger, too.