Tag: Picardy III

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Christmas, Light and Dark

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An assortment of Christmas songs I have recently listened to and enjoyed. Some light, some heavy, all festive.

The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl, Fairytale of New York – In honor of its 25th birthday this week, and because it is a holiday song I listen to year ’round.
 

 
August Burns Red, Carol of the Bells– There’s very little I like better than heavy metal Christmas carols. Unless it’s hardcore Christmas carols where the band gives the drummer free reign. This is my #1 favorite rendition of this song. It’s heavy and orchestral and amazing.
 

 
Six Shooter, Carol of the Bells – Be sure to watch this one before you hit the egg-nog. I’m not sure I would have filmed it quite the same way, but I’ll forgive a lot because there are heavily tattooed dudes in black Santa hats shredding, and Santa himself sitting in with the band.
 

 
The Lost Brothers with Bill Ryder-Jones, St. Christopher – This one is both dark and light, sweet and melancholy at the same time. It’s available for sale on The Lost Brothers website, and proceeds will go to the Peter McVerry Trust, which supports the young homeless in Dublin.
 
https://soundcloud.com/thelostbrothers/st-christopher
 
Picardy III, O Holy Night, from Rainboot Christmas: Volume Two – Also in the category of “both dark and light”, Picardy III’s version of one of my favorite carols is a highlight of Rainboot’s second annual Christmas compilation record. Proceeds from the sale of this song/the record will go to Save the Children.
 

 
The Candle Thieves, When Santa Clause Comes To Town – And now, for some light. This is a bouncy little tune, excellent for trimming the tree or shoveling snow or drinking alcoholic hot chocolate and having a Kitchen Dance Party.
 
https://soundcloud.com/thecandlethieves/when-santa-claus-comes-to-town
 

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Build A Fortress Around My Tears: Picardy III, Lonely Songs

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Lonely Songs, by Picardy III, a musical collective led by James Summers of Austin, Texas, starts with a spoken word track, As You Climb The Mountain, which sets the mood for the rest of the record: quiet, meditative, embued with the quality of sadness that goes with rain on foggy windowsills and low, heavy skies, but can be banished by a warm cup of tea.

And what comes after the introduction is music that called me out of my bedroom, away from my unpacking of bags and boxes of things lately liberated from storage, that said: I require your full attention. You have to listen carefully.

The record is officially out in January 2013, but a partial version is available for free for a limited time from both bandcamp and Noisetrade.

The Noisetrade download also includes a special bonus track, a folk-rock cover of What Is Love by Haddaway, and, you guys, never has a club banger been so magnificently transformed into a mournful lament.

As encouragement/enticement, here are a couple of his tunes: Going (The Lonely Song) is the first single; Ever Be is the one that punched me right in the heart.