Time for this year’s post with Christmas songs. Here’s a collection of new songs where you might find some to add to your Christmas playlist you spin every year. Merry Christmas!

Chirping – “Love, For Every Christmas I Miss You More”

The last time we heard from Chirping was last year with the single “Ambitions”. I’m happy to see now that they have recorded a new EP during the Autumn, which they will release in the beginning of next year. They serve us a Christmas song as a warm-up, and a really nice one too.

The Genuine Fakes – “Frost”

I haven’t hear from the powerpop band The Genuine Fakes in four years, since they released their debut album “The Striped Album”. But now they are soon coming out with their second album, and just like the band above, they give us an appetizer in the shape of a Christmas single. The first track is a cover of a song from “Frozen” and the second one is their own, a song they released last year as part of charity record.

Michael Fannon – “Första julen utan dig”

Michael Fannon won the radio show “Svensktoppen nästa 2015”, and he follows up on his single hit with a great Christmas track called “Första julen utan dig”.

Sveket – “Förra julen”

Sveket is another project that makes a comeback with a Christmas song. Here with a great version of “Last Christmas”, a song which has been played a bit too much over the years, but which I think they revitalize with their new version. “Förra julen” is also the name of an EP released simultaneously, containing two earlier singles and a new song, beside this cover.

Nilla Nielsen – “Hjärtats sång”

Nilla Nielsen has collaborated with Lasse Lindbom on this song they have written together. That Lasse has some experience with Christmas songs from before is something you probably have noted, if you’ve ever been in Sweden at Christmas time any year after 1987, and also this time the topic is peace, love and understanding.

Hobart W. Fink – “White Christmas”

And now to something completely different. No, it’s not “that” “White Christmas”, but totally a different one from the Los Angeles band Hobart W. Fink. Not so much of a cute Christmas atmosphere perhaps, but rather a rough indie grunge-vibing one. The song is taken from their EP “Post Hummus”.

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – “White Christmas”

And now we go on to “that” “White Christmas”. Here in a 60’s-vibing soul version with Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings.

Bangalore – “Stora stund”

And then Bangalore bring us down to earth again and reminds us to put some perspective on our gluttony. Here in a synthpop-vibing, lo-fi and quite catchy song.

Square – “Xmas is a bless (let’s talk about it)”

Even Square have made a Christmas track this year, which they describe as “…an attempt to catch the hedonistic basic values of Christmas and that the most ecological, economical, ethical and most wanted solution is to give yourself away as a Christmas gift.” Well, it rocks, it’s the Christmas groove of the year I think.

Lady Low – “Lonely Christmas”

And from LA Lady Low comes with a load of strings and sing about loneliness at Christmas.

Femme – “Santa (Be Good to Me)”

British Femme has made the coolest Christmas track on the list. The song is also a part of a charity project called CoppaFeel!, which is about breast cancer awareness.

Red Sleeping Beauty “Merry Christmas, Marie”

“Merry Christmas, Marie” was the first song in 17 years from the 90’s band Red Sleeping Beauty. It’s also the second single from their upcoming album, to be released in about half a year.

Pär Edwardson – “Let Me In For Christmas”

I’m finishing this Christmas special with a song that is note entirely new, but that has become a favourite of mine from the recent year’s Christmas specials. Pär Edwardson is also out now with his second album “PearShaped”

 

Johan Reinhold – “Feel For You”

“Feel For You” is Johan Reinhold’s warm tribute to his mother, who passed away a year ago of cancer. Here you’ll also find the explanation to why Johan took a pause from the music, even though he was in the middle of the success with his songs, among them “Shoot Me Down“, which I wrote about. He writes that he went through a hard time and he yearned for the opportunity to be able to tell his mother how much she meant to him. He did this in the best way possible: with this song.

The song is also his way of picking up his music career where he left it, and is one of the two songs of the single “Closing Doors”, due for release May 12th. All net proceeds will go to charity to help fight cancer.

HvH – “Cause of Your Destruction”

HvH stands for “Hammar village heights” and is the name of a new indie trio from the outskirts of Stockholm. Their debut single is called “Cause of Your Destruction”, a hymn-like electro pop song, rather naked but yet grand. The song is also a part of a new election campaign album for F! (Swedish feminist party). It’s an album with songs from 65 artists, well known as well as less known artists, among them Robyn, The Knife, Nina Persson, Crucified Barbara, The Bear Quartet, Ane Brun and many others. A quite unique initiative in Swedish politics.

White Birches – “Stands of White Birches” – EP

The electro pop duo White Birches, Jenny Gabrielsson Mare and Fredrik Jonasson, promised us an EP this Spring, and now they’ve fulfilled that promise with the new four-track collection “Stands of White Birches”. It’s about dark, dreamy, beautiful melodies and with a sort of muffled electro pop sound. We’ve heard two of the songs before, and one of the songs “The End of The Line” was on my list of the best songs of last year. With the new “Take Me Dancing” they show us that their source of inspiration is certainly still there:

Square – “The Reversed Spanish Chair”

It’s been almost six years since I wrote about the band Square. They are now in the process of releasing their fourth album “The Reversed Spanish Chair”, and I notice that they haven’t lost any energy since the last time. Not the least, and they’ve been doing this since 1998, music that could be described as a mix of garage rock and ska with a turbo engine built into it. I’d even say that they sound better than ever.

I said that they were in the process of releasing the album, which actually means that they are releasing the album song by song; every other week a new track is presented until August later this year. So far they’ve shown us three songs. Here are two of them:

Fascinating is just the first name when it comes to Square. My legs start moving and I wish I was transferred to a party scene at a festival somewhere so I could enjoy it fully. And I don’t even like to dance.

I could start some kind of description of their music by calling it high-speed ska. But it’s ska like you’ve never heard it before. Rock, punk and a lot of other influences perfect this to a mixture I have never heard before. Brass players that have to work real hard, a great rhythm section, nice guitars and a singer that gives so much that I can hear the sweat pouring.

They have released two albums before and a third album is being released the 21st of November. Here you can listen to some tracks from the album.

L-l-l-let Us Into Mama’s House!:

Mr P and His Pushy Machine
HC Bad

Read more about Square on their site and blog
and listen more on their Myspace page