Dec 24th: Cascada - Last Christmas

First of all, an admission - I don't really like Last Christmas (yeah yeah, I know, bah humbug and all that).

But I do like Cascada. Probably because she's pretty, but also just because she seems fun, and I always want to give her a massive hug.


Cascada's version of Last Christmas might not be revolutionary, but it's a perfectly acceptable way to pass four minutes - especially if, like me, you don't like the original version.

It's also kinda nice to see that this is still the go-to song for generic Christmas dance covers, almost 20 years after Whigfield murdered it to death (but weirdly, I still love Whigfield too. Must be the nostalgia...).


Cascada's version is actually from an entire album full of Cascada Christmas songs - praise the lord!

You can download It's Christmas Time via the iTunes button below.



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Dec 23rd: Dominic Balli - Christmas in Cali

Dominic Balli's transatlantic Christmas track, Christmas in Cali, gives another American view of the festive season from a state where the sun seems to shine all year round.

It's great to hear a reggae track that still manages to incorporate all of the necessities of a Christmas song - including a crazy-trumpets Jingle Bells moment and, unless my ears mistake me, sleigh bells.


I give it about 12 months before we see an Olly Murs cover of this song vying for Christmas chart position.



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Dec 22nd: Midwest Skies! - This Christmas

An antidote to the schmultzy (yeah, I used that word again) snow-and-Santa Christmas music that you're all probably sick of by now, Midwest Skies!' This Christmas is downbeat in its lyrics, but upbeat in its energy.

It's always good to hear a brand new Christmas song, as opposed to another cover of an old classic - and This Christmas is definitely something new.


Rock guitars don't detract from the fact that this is well and truly a Christmas song though - and the chimes make that clear from the very start.

And of course, any video in which the band are happy to poke fun at themselves is a good thing, so it's great to see that Midwest Skies! don't take themselves too seriously.

More from Midwest Skies! on iTunes via the button below.



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Dec 21st: CeeLo Green - What Christmas Means To Me

A good old-fashioned bit of fun (and good music, too) from CeeLo Green today, from his new album CeeLo's Magic Moment.

What Christmas Means To Me is unashamedly upbeat and as festive as kisses under the mistletoe, and CeeLo's voice suits the song perfectly.


This is just one of the tracks from CeeLo's Magic Moment, an album that includes duets with Christina Aguilera, Rod Stewart and The Muppets.

Click below to see the full track listing on iTunes.



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Dec 20th: Tracey Thorn - Joy

Today's advent calendar post is a moving track from Tracey Thorn's album Tinsel and Lights.

The album was released on November 12th in the UK, but if you haven't spotted it yet, there's still time to add these emotionally charged tracks to your festive playlist, and make it a sentimental Christmas this year.


Joy is one of the original tracks on an album that largely consists of cover versions, and it's one of the true highlights of Tinsel and Lights.

Stream the video above, and get a sneaky peek behind the scenes with the clip below.


It's been a good couple of years for Christmas music - a real return to traditional arrangements of sentimental songs.

Buy Tinsel and Lights from iTunes via the button below.



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Dec 19th: Fimber Bravo - Life After Doomsday

OK, who asked Santa for an eight-minute atmospheric epic with steel drums? It's just arrived.

Actually today's advent calendar post, Fimber Bravo's Life After Doomsday, was first released in November, but it makes a great preview ahead of the January release of his debut album Con-Fusion.



It sounds a little like the soundtrack to a blaxploitation remake of 28 Days Later, but that's fine by me.

Steel drums are much underused in modern music, and while the full eight minutes of this track might seem a little longer than it needs to be, personally I love it.



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Dec 18th: Teleman - Cristina

Today's advent calendar post is Cristina, the new single from Teleman, which is due for official release on January 14th 2013.

It's good to hear synth used the way it should be, and not just as a lazy replacement for a piano - and I'm a big fan of the understated nature of this whole track, from the one-note intro to the slow fade at the end.



Cristina is taken from Teleman's debut 7" single release, with In Your Fur as its more upbeat and energetic B-side.

Find Teleman on iTunes:



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Dec 17th: Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler - Zombie Christmas

If it weren't for our friends at Harriet & Dee, this one might have passed me by completely - but luckily, when you spend literally hours browsing round their Aladdin's Cave of delights trying to find the perfect Christmas gift, you get to hear quite a bit of their 'alternative' Christmas playlist, too.

Zombie Christmas is from Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler's album This is Christmas - it's out today and well worth a listen, as is the album as a whole.


It's a refreshing alternative to the usual schmultzy (yes I did just use that word) festive fayre that has us all feeling suicidally happy by the time Christmas Eve arrives.

This is not a song that pretends no bad things happen at Christmas - it's just that, in this case, the 'bad thing' that happens is the Zombie Apocalypse.

But hey, zombies are people too.

Thanks again to Harriet & Dee for the hat-tip on this one - you can follow them on Twitter at @HarrietAndDee.

Buy This is Christmas by clicking the iTunes button below.



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Dec 16th: Junip - Junip

Today's advent calendar post is something of a tease, but if I was excited by it, then somebody else out there probably will be too - and that alone makes it worth posting!

It's an oh-so-brief preview of Junip's second album, Junip, due out on April 22nd 2013.

The self-titled sophomore release from the Swedish band follows up on the hugely successful Fields, released in 2010.


If Junip sound familiar, even though you've never heard of them, it's probably due to singer Jose Gonzalez.

His cover of The Knife's Heartbeats was used, famously, on the Sony Bravia 'bouncy balls' ad - one that's worth watching again, which is why we've included it below.


It's hard to shake off the fame of something like that, but Gonzalez' original work - and Junip's as a whole - seems plenty worthy of finding an audience of its own.

Look out for more as the April release date approaches on this one.

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Dec 15th: WHY? - The Water You Walk

WHY? have unveiled The Water You Walk, a "loosely Xmas-themed" track that's the B-side to new single Waterlines, out on December 17th.

It's been a big year for WHY?, who made the journey from their Cincinnati roots to the UK once again for a tour that incorporated their biggest-ever London venue, the Electric Ballroom.



The Water You Walk is a musical amalgam, beginning with a brief burst of jazzy keys which quickly give way for the song proper to begin.

From there, you've got a distinctive blend of verses and mellow choruses to coax you through to the end of the song.

The Water You Walk is a grower, like so many songs, but by the end of my first listen, I just wanted to hit 'play' again for a rerun.

Find more from WHY? on iTunes by clicking the button below.



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