Sunday, December 05, 2010

All you want for Christmas is them

Let's briefly break into our short term nostalgia programming to talk about the first wave of festive releases for 2010.

One of them you already can't buy. Saint Etienne's A Glimpse Of Stocking features eight old festive songs, six new self-penned efforts and a Doors cover, all of which stream from their site, but it was available only in a run of 3,000 through their site or fifty at each of their forthcoming gigs - Glasgow ABC 16th, Manchester Ritz 17th, London Forum 18th.

Some have thought ahead. Moshi Moshi Xmas sees the label put up six of their best, including hardy festive perennials Slow Club (Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)), Hot Club De Paris, James Yuill (Winter Wonderland) and Summer Camp, whose cover of Christmas Wrapping is on Pitchfork. Meanwhile the small but venerable Where It's At Is Where You Are issue Christmastime, Approximately from the 13th, featuring The Understudies, Betty and the Werewolves, Howard Hughes & David Tattersall (another format for the Wave Pictures frontman!), Help Stamp Out Loneliness, Eux Autres, DJ Downfall and Hong Kong In The 60s.

MJ Hibbett always makes a point of doing something for the season, this time wrapping six tracks up together and calling them Christmas Selection Box, yours for a two-er. Motherwell's melancholic kidders the Just Joans also have an EP out, Seasonal Greet, with a track for free download via that link to try before you order. As is increasingly their way the Futureheads' Christmas Was Better In The 80s is a neat idea wrapped in too much suffocating rot, although the Handel rip is a nice touch.

Finally, your recommended advent calendar of content - Bandstand Busking's.

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