It’s the most wonderful time of the year… again! Although I’m not the biggest fan of cold weather, I do love the cozy songs that suddenly sound so much better after the first snowfall. You know, the Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Ryan Adams-type songs that were just made for roasting chestnuts on an open fire.
With now only one week (!) until Christmas and plenty of last-minute pavement pounding on the horizon for all of us lazy shoppers, you’re going to need a dreamy winter playlist to warm up to during, and after, your holiday excursions. These 10 recent 2014 gems are an excellent way to round out a year and kick a season into gear. Enjoy!
1. BLOOD – OSCA: Let this young Berlin band’s gorgeous vocals melt you (but not the snow).
2. THE LAKES – RHODES: Rhodes’ soulful, minimalist ballads pair perfectly with a glass of wine on a snowy night.
3. COMING HOME – LEON BRIDGES: Raise your hand if you’re heading home for the holidays! Leon’s 50s-reminiscent croon will sway with you the whole way there.
4. COCAINE MODEL – ZHU: As much as the holidays are for relaxing, they’re also for turning up a wee bit. This shiny downtown groove has living room dance party written all over it.
5. KANSAS CITY – THE NEW BASEMENT TAPES: If you aren’t onto this amazing (star-studded) project yet, I don’t have enough space or time to get you there. I recently heard the stories of these recordings straight from their record label’s mouth, and I’m now more of an obsessed advocate than ever. This album = all the warmth.
6. I’LL BE STONED THIS CHRISTMAS – DENT MAY: Leave it to Dent May to assemble this satirical, and incredibly accurate for many, indie-pop track. Funnily enough, it’s ridiculously catchy.
7. GOD ONLY KNOWS – SHE & HIM: Several reasons to love this song: namely, Zooey Deschanel is involved, it’s a damn classic, and let’s be honest – we all want our life to be like the final scene in Love, Actually.
8. I WILL BE THERE – ODESSA: California-born Odessa Rose is full of pretty, roadtrip-ready tunes like this to get you feelin’ all kinds of warm and fuzzy his holiday season.
9. LAVENDER – TURTLE: This kind of ambient track will guide you right through a blizzard and into the local pub.
10. EVERY AGE – JOSE GONZALEZ: Feeling particularly reflective at this end-of-year juncture? Who isn’t! Let this existential tune get that deep thinking going for you.
Recent Comments