I haven’t done an official count, but it seems to me that the Brits are beating the Americans when it comes to dishing out the free Christmas tunes this year.
Add Sheffield, England’s The Crookes to the list. Formed in 2008 (and named for a Sheffield suburb), the quartet serves up the sort of jangly guitar pop that has earned comparisons to The Smiths, The Housemartins, and Belle and Sebastian. The Crookes released their first EP in October, and you can listen to a little of that here (I suggest beginning with “Backstreet Lovers,” the first tune these blokes wrote together).
With a note thanking their fans for all the support they’ve received in 2010 (“We love you all really and dearly”), The Crookes have issued a two-song Christmas single as a free download. First up is an original tune,”It’s Just Not Christmas Without You,” a doo-wop ditty dusted with just the sort of holiday melancholy the title suggests. Hear here:
The Christmas song The Crookes recorded for their virtual B-side is an unexpected pick, but so very, very welcome. They’ve covered “All Alone On Christmas,” a song that debuted in 1992 on the Home Alone 2: Lost In New York soundtrack, written by Steve Van Zandt and sung by the one and only Darlene Love. The original takes inspiration from Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound and Love’s career highlight with the jailed producer, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” which is as good as it gets, Christmas music-wise, in my book.
With only a ukelele as accompaniment, The Crookes have all but silenced the bombast of “All Alone On Christmas,” an extreme shift in sound that throws the song’s emotional longing into touchingly personal stark relief. Hear here:
Free download of The Crookes – “It’s Not Just Christmas Without You” via the band’s website.
