Artificial Villains: Christmas Album – Album Evaluate

Artificial Villains

Christmas Album (Bandcamp) CD/DL/ST

Out there now

7/10

Adore it or detest it, it’s a Christmas Album!

Does the time period Christmas Album fill your boots with slushy snow, or does it make your jingle jangle? Christmas may be each a time of pleasure and a time of despair, relying in your experiences and the place you’re in your life proper now. It’s filled with sociable get togethers, or a burden of loneliness. The newest launch from Artificial Villains (the solo mission of Richard Turner) although, isn’t your conventional Christmas launch. That is Christmas as you might bear in mind it, performed by an over-enthusiastic Uncle on his model new Santa delivered keyboard; that’s in case your over-enthusiastic Uncle occurs to be a extremely cool musician who doesn’t solely play the keyboard however a little bit of a imply guitar, can programme a drum machine, and loves going lo-fi over a couple of trad. Christmas tunes, while knocking off a couple of of his personal.

Even when the recordings weren’t known as Christmas Album, as quickly because the hauntingly evocative notes of Silent Evening prelude the mission you’re sucked right into a world of snow, hope, loss and longing. Silent Evening (reprise) additionally ends the album, however the final model might be a misplaced Velvet Underground recording, with a splendidly laid again guitar riff. Between these songs we get a storage guitar model of We Three Kings with a grimy digital beat, a melancholic guitar riff whispering by Holly and the Ivy that, with its empty areas, creates a sense of winter, and nearly a present tune model of God Relaxation Ye Merry Gents which turns into extra folks tinged because it progresses.

There’s a cool model of Deck The Halls, with a critically bomping drum beat, and a model of Carol Of The Bells which, eerily, had me pondering of a John Carpenter soundtrack, and a model of We Want You A Merry Christmas that’s so filled with Christmas spirit you might get drunk on it, and which segues right into a quite cool Americana sit back model.

Of the 4 originals right here, Reindeer Stomp is the stand out, becoming in with the classics completely, however Load The Sleigh has an incredible tune that’s paying homage to falling snow.

If you wish to get within the temper for the festive season then that is the right manner.

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You’ll find Artificial Villains on-line right here.

All phrases by Mark Ray. Extra writing by Mark Ray may be discovered at his creator archive. And he may be discovered on Twitter, Instagram and WordPress