Treat Your Ears To Something Good This Christmas

It's most likely been about two months (at least) since you heard your first complaint about Christmas decorations being put up in shop windows. However now that we're well into December, it is finally justifiable to even mention the Silly Season here.

Unfortunately, accompanying those decorations strewn around malls and shops is often the most hideous pandemonium of Christmas music you are ever likely to hear.  If it's not the cheesy pop hits of the past 30 years, or updated and cringe-worthy upbeat versions of already terrible carols, it's unexpected and strange duets (I'm looking at you David Bowie & Bing Crosby and Bruce Springsteen & Bon Jovi). Admittedly some of the old classics are just that, classic. It's difficult not to feel festive when you hear Bing Crosby begin to croon some festive songs (aside perhaps from the aforementioned Bowie duet), or enjoy Nat King Cole singing The Christmas Song and to a depressingly lesser extent The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot.

However, for every great Yuletide song you can hear each year, there is a fountain, nay a mountain of turgid shit that pollutes the airwaves and CD stands. But this does not mean that lovers of good music must shut their windows and close their doors, unable to take part in the holiday season with good festive songs.  There are plenty of tracks, some even within the last few years, that put their own spin on Christmas and happen to actually be great to listen to.

Beginning with something mildly epic, the Trans Siberian Orchestra's version of Carol of the Bells brings the 100 year Ukrainian chant some well deserved rawk. If when Carol of the Bells is mentioned you even dare think about listening to Destiny's Child annihilation of the tune, stop and let the metal maestros blow you away with their complex and stadium-sized rendition of the chilly Winter's tale (except that it's actually originally about Spring). If you'd prefer to go old school, then you can't much go past RUN DMC's Christmas In Hollis. Or better yet, the Christmas tune that RUN DMC samples for Hollis is Clarence Carter's Back Door Santa; the funky (and exceptionally seedy) soul number. 

Tim Minchin: Knows what's important at Christmas.

For something more comical but with an undercurrent of serious thought, Tom Lehrer's A Christmas Carol is one of the only honest Christmas songs ever written.  Lehrer explains in just a few minutes exactly what the true meaning of Christmas really is; money.  All the more startling, and somewhat depressing then to note that it was composed in the 50s. But infinitely more beautiful than Lehrer's leering and snarling American accent, is Tim Minchin's lilting and heartfelt White Wine In The Sun. It sums up perfectly what it is like to be secular at Christmas, and slightly bemused by all the religiosity that surrounds the holidays.  After money, family is of course the most important thing at Christmas, and Minchin's ode to his daughter really is a touching tale of how she will always find her family's love and security, no matter how overwhelming life gets.

For something altogether more alternative arranged on one very handy little compilation, you can't go much past Just Say Noël. Featuring tracks by the likes of everyone from Beck to an excellent track from XTC to possibly the best version of Amazing Grace by Ted Hawkins, it is the most eclectic collection of Christmas songs you're likely to find.  

There are many other great Christmas songs that I could have included on this distinctly incomprehensive list, but that is part of the fun of tracking down some festive musicality. The hunt through the crap to find the kernels of greatness is what it's all about.  Of course, I could just be keeping some under wraps so I have something to talk about this time next year. Merry Christmas.

Fukuyo's Fables Debut EP Is A Quiet Achiever

You could be forgiven for thinking that if you're not a drum and bass or dubstep producer in Wellington you're not going to go very far on the live cicruit.  Almost every night of the week you'll find a venue pumping out the massive beats to the ever increasing masses.  However, for every hard and fast DJ there are about four hard working fledgling bands jamming away and looking to get noticed, and of those four bands, one of them will be great.  Fukuyo's Fables is one such band, and if you haven't heard of them yet, it's only a matter of time. 

The band have been playing together for over a year now but have only recently been making real ripples with the release of their self-titled EP in September, accompanied by a gig at the San Fran Bath House.  What really stands out throughout the record is the overpowering and often complex medley of vocals. In fact it can often be difficult to determine what exactly is breathy vocal and what is instrumental accompaniment, the two blend so well. 

The first track, Buildings, begins by evoking a wistful reminiscence of love on a seemingly chilly Winter's day. The timbering acoustic and vocals shiver through the beginning of the track, before being trodden on by a thumping folky percussive shuffle, then calming back down to finish as it started.  Drag 'Em is a rollercoaster of tempo, with an upbeat ditty descending into a lounging folk number, and back and forth again effortlessly. The juxtaposition of these two styles is hard to pull off, and can often seem jarring. But the journey this song takes you on is much deeper than the intro would first suggest.  My Oh is a small but perfectly formed package of heart-warming if bitter-sweet delight. 

Coffee Shaped Treat fully embraces the altogether darker and more moody atmosphere that up until this point had only been hinted at.  Ethereal vocal harmonies usher in Scott Maynard's forlorn ballad, and return to back him up as his vehement sighs overlay the frantic guitar and drums.  Coffee Shaped Treat is a tailor-made jamming beauty that gives the band the freedom to explore as much or as little of it as they want.  It's the kind of song you could see being either wrapped up at a gig in four minutes, or drawn out and played with as an eight or nine minute epic of acoustic despair and harmony.

No Such Thing As A Green Eyed Fox, not content with merely being a fantastic track title, rounds out the EP as an example of just how proficient the band are at their harmonic couplings. The band come together gloriously on this track, with Jeremy Hunter's skilful guitar, along with Maynard's lilting vocals, taking the lead and proving that The Phoenix Foundation don't have the monopoly on alt-folk in New Zealand.  The track ends on a laid back and sombre jam that leaves you full, but aching for more.

Fukuyo's Fables have stated their appreciation of Fleet Foxes, and they've already covered Bon Iver's Woods in their live shows, so it's plain to see where their influence lies.  But this is not to say that the band has merely tried to sound like those who inspire them. There is very definitely a stamp of individuality at work here, with Maynard's distinctly Kiwi vocals at the heart of it. At times fragile almost to the point of breaking, at other times warm and comforting, he leads the rest of the band in superb vocal harmonies and polished acoustics that soar above their humble station.  This is a band that, whatever inevitable success may come their way in the future, seem content with their very strong musical formula.  The quiet brilliance of their songs comes from their modesty, and when you listen to the EP, you in turn are likely to be quietly blown away.

Listen to (and buy!) Fuyuko's Fables' EP HERE.