Dance Around The Fake Fir Tree

Mark W Georgsson has bookended my year musically, releasing his beautiful debut album Faces and Places back in January, playing a memorable cosy Celtic Connections show in the basement of The Hug and Pint to launch in style. Check my blog on the album HERE 

And now in December he releases a funky, glam, soulful pop Spector-esque Christmas single in the shape of Dance (Around The Fake Fir Tree).

The flowing chorus is Springsteen-esque, backed by soaring strings, sleigh bells, church bells and stomping beats. The way it is repeated at the end brings a sense of euphoria to the song. Epic.

At the start it's quite Marc Bolan/Jesus and Mary Chain, funky and poppy, fun and frisky and then leading into that sky scraping chorus.

So take my hand

And let's go dance

Around the bare fir tree

I wanna hold you tight

Every Christmas night

Like we were young and care free

The post second chorus breakdown and subsequent build up is a little spine tingling and then Georgsson and friends let rip with the chorus again and again.

Recorded in Iceland, where the beautiful artwork was photographed, this is a gem.

Mark W Georgsson and friends play a Christmas show at The Hug and Pint on Dec 8th.

The digital single is out today, available on iTunes, Spotify and all the usual outlets. Check the lyric video below.

Ette - Christmas Day With My Boy

Ette is the solo music project by my sister - Carla J Easton, who is also in TeenCanteen. Carla has worked with Joe Kane from Dr Cosmos Tape Lab to record an album of material that will come out on Olive Grove Records next year.

Before then there is the small matter of a debut single, that just so happens to be a Christmas song that is coming out on a limited edition heart shaped Ette Christmas bauble with a download code. They may well be sold out by the time you read this so check quickly if interested. Fear not, you can download Spending Every Christmas Day With My Boy and the AA-side Birthdays (single version).

Spending Every Christmas Day With My Boy is melodic, funny, sweet and definitely influenced by Phil Spector with bells, all kinds of percussion and lovely warm acoustic guitars.

The melody is catchy, the vocals are strong and true and as the cover may help to suggest, the boy in question was my sisters cat who she always looked forward to coming home to during the Christmas holidays.

We will light a fair, we will warm our toes

We've got Christmas presents and mistletoe

We've got family, we've got fairly lights

We've had Santa Claus visit in the night

And my heart is full of joy

Knowing that I'm spending Christmas Day with my boy

The AA-side Birthdays (single version) has a lovely playful ukulele rhythm backing it and the vocals are strong again, there is a real looseness to them. The lyrics and melody are as playful as the A-side.

I wear pink when I feel blue

Cause cherry bombs turn out not to
Mean anything at all to you no more

Carla and Joe have clearly hit it off and I can't wait for the album to come out.