Sunday, December 07, 2014

The Western Den

We rarely post (covers of) old Christmas carols. Not that we don't like 'm, in fact, I have a deep love for 'God rest ye merry gentleman', I even compiled a Spotify playlist of 100 versions.
Christmas a Go Go is more into the kooky, leftfield and hard funkin' Christmas tunes. But there are always exceptions. Chris West, half of folksy country duo The Western Den, send us links to two of the EPs he made together with Deni Hlavinka. One of those EPs contains carols, and one of the songs that grabbed my attention was a version of 'Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella'. A French carol, dating back to the 17th century, that's usually sung by traditional choirs or classical singers. Every now and then it pops up on seasonal albums by pop/rock singers, like Heart, Sufjan Stevens, Smokey Robinson and The Lower Lights.
I really dig this version by The Western Dens. Chris writes:
Last year, we released our Midwinter EP, a collection of some of our favorite carols, and managed to raise over $1000 for the Typhoon Haiyan relief in the Philippines. This year, we're donating all proceeds made this month from our Midwinter EP and our Battle Hymns EP, directly to No Kid Hungry - an organization committed to ending child hunger in America.


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