Christmas A Go Go!

Like clockwork, the new (third) Christmas EP by That Band From Holland was released on December 1. Indiepop from Holland (Rotterdam, in fact), with help from the Left-Handed Orchestra. It's a 'name your price' download! The deadweight loss of christmas by That band from Holland (& Left handed Orchestra)

Dutch funnymen That Band from Holland (love that accent) are giving away their indierocking Christmas Ep 'Tree Party' here . Tree Party by That band from Holland (& Left handed Orchestra)

If you're a frequent visitor of this blog through the years, you know we love(d) That Band from Holland. They're featured on this blog since 2009 ( HERE ) with their funny, clever, heavily accented tracks, switching musically between indierock, exotica and sad ballads. Not sure what happened around 2017 , but all of a sudden there were two bands: The Non Traditionals (TNT) and Ne Pas de Machine. TNT kept releasing Christmas EPs every year like clockwork, Ne Pas de Machine seemed less productive, but hey, this year they're releasing a new track! And as ever, the ole Band from Holland magic is sprinkled all over this like powdered sugar on an oliebol . EDIT: OK, so Michel just explained it to me. That Band from Holland is no more. Michel works uder several monikers: Ne Pas de Machine, Monsterbieb , Left Handed Orchestra and Stylophonic workshop - the latter released an instrumental Christmas album last year, THIS one. Former TBFH-compadre Eric releases as St Polaroid ...

They're back! That Band from Holland, those non-traditionalists that won't keep a promise (yes!), they recorded three alt.Christmas songs that are as welcome as a lost lost family member on Christmas Eve dinner. Rejoice, people, THIS is the spirit of alt. Christmas Warm Blooded Snowman by The Non Traditionals

What was missing this year: a Christmas album by That Band from Holland . This funny and kind of mysterious troupe of Dutchies jollied December with an EP or album since 2009. If you like non-traditional, left-field, heavily accented and humorous Christmas music with an 'OK we're not Phil Spector but we have the ideas'-productional attitude, you'd love TBFH. All their hits are gathered on their final offering, a compilation under a new moniker, The Non-Traditionals. If this is goodbye (our guess is, it isn't) thanks for the memories, and the songs. This is our favourite: The Non Traditionals- New Traditionals (Final Christmas Compilation) by The Non Traditionals

Second backtrack of songs posted in the past 15 years on this blog. Because, a lot of songs are just too good to be left behind. Let's kick off with a GORGEOUS sad song (hat tip to Christmas Underground ): Winter In The City (Single) by Young War Psych-rocking Xmas by Downdime: MERRY XMAS DARLING by DOWNDIME These guys wrote A LOT of great Christmas songs, here's just one of 'm: The Xmas Singles 2014-18 by Charlie's Hand Movements Very smart, gentle tune: Lapland · Maybe On Christmas Just one of the great lofi indie songs by That Band from Holland (later known as The Non-Traditionals) Forget the Past with a Present by That band from Holland (& Left handed Orchestra) Discovered last year, this upbeat lo-fi R&B song: Christmas Comedown Vol. 1 by Liam Parsons We've had many glammed up Xmas tracks on this blog, this one shouldn't be forgotten: Bring My Baby Back For Christmas · Bring My Baby Back For Christmas

On December 1, That Band from Holland releases their 6th annual Christmas album. This one's called 'For Whom the Sleighbell Tolls', and with songtitles like 'Elvis Shaped Snowman' and 'Don't Swallow the Glitters, Gary', you know it's gonna be kooky, just the way we like(d) it. Go HERE for TBFH's Christmas albums. Go HERE for their regular music. UPDATE: IT'S HERE! For whom the sleighbell tolls by ne pas de machine

Dutch Indieband That Band From Holland gives us a present to forget the past. You can go here to download all four songs of the EP. Forget the Past with a Present by That band from Holland (& Left handed Orchestra)

Making a list is SO Christmas, that's why I round up of all the bestest tracks every season (according to me). I left out the covers, I tried to pick only songs that were released this year. There is a Spotify playlist HERE with over 35 songs. No trend really stood out this year, apart from the Sad Girl Xmas songs that just kept on coming. There were French tracks, punk anthems, alt rock gems, Dutchies getting involved, covers, electronics, reworks, KNP released an album, so did THE TOOTH. In fact, A LOT to enjoy, really. Here are some of the highlights of 2025: * The bestest of the best is King Hüsky's December95 . Already wrote a post about that song, that Jim/Christmas Underground posted first . And every time I played it, it just got better. It's the melody, it's the structure, it's the solo (very much the solo), the nostalgia in the lyrics, the voices, the sped up ending. It just stays interesting, ticks all the right boxes. It's good. Very goo...

It's the ultimate Christmas gift, so much that JD McPherson named his totally fantastic Christmas album after it. Socks. When Randolph's Leap added a song about getting socks for Xmas to their classic Christmas album, I decided to dig in some more. What are the bestest feet warmin' xmas choons? Note: there is a band called X-Mas Socks , from France, but this punk band never wrote a Christmas song, let alone one about socks. Malheuresement. Let's kick off with the blues by JD: SOCKS by JD McPherson And this is that Randolph's Leap track (not only about socks, as Christmas Underground noted ): Christmas Album by Randolph's Leap From a recent SNL episode, Paul Rudd singin' a funny song about Christmas socks Croonin' about NOT wanting socks (see the video HERE ): Dinner's Ready by Kirt Connor Ramones-y punk, ho ho let's go: Wreck The Halls by The Wish You Weres Sweet, minimal lofi track from a couple of girls from Belfast: 'And ever...

It's here, the 5th Christmas album by That Band from Holland. And it's marvellous. Mind your own Christmas by The Non Traditionals

Yep, they're from Holland. And they make odd, but good X-mas tunes. This is their fourth seasonal album: How to microwave whole turkey by The Non Traditionals

A while back, I asked via social media and this blog , for your list of the 20 bestest Christmas songs of the decade. I received about 15 lists and scattered songs; so much different tracks, it's nearly impossible to make a solid ranking. The song that got the most mentions was 'That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!' by Sufjan Stevens, followed by 'My & My Baby (Spend Christmas With Me)' by The Faithettes. Both fine songs. EDIT: Although, as Stubby has just mentioned in the comments, Sufjan's from 2003 so cannot be named in this list. Hmmm. Let's settle for this great song then. Anyhoo, to make the most of out all your submissions, I decided to post ten submissions that I either forgot all about, hadn't heard of, or/and were just too darn good to pass. They're all from 2010-2019, suggested by readers of this blog. First up, this song (suggested by David and Dan) by Jonathan Coulton & John Roderick (of The Long Winters), about that unc...

Hey-ho, let's go! It's November 1st, it's tiiiiiiiime to re-open the blog and spread the joys of alternative, odd, weird, funny and shameless romantic Christmas songs. We kick off with a Dutch track by two man band Have I Weather . They released a joyful follow up to their Santa's Blues from last year . This catchy track brings cheer to any Christmas mix. If yer into the works of Ne Pas de Machine and That Band from Holland, yer in for a treat.

Almost as long I can remember every year a strange Dutch band pops up around Xmas: That Band From Holland.  I guess they started around 2007. They're based in Rotterdam and like The Unicorns, Grandaddy and Sparklehorse. We started writing about their Christmas music in 2009, read  here  . Since a couple of years they have an offshoot called The Non Traditionals who took over their Xmas music. We discovered The Non Traditionals in 2017, read  here . Their 2020 holiday track sounds acoustic and folky, with a bit of jangly organ. Typical Dutch sound. This is what they say about the track: "24 hour project. Writing, recording, arranging and mixing the song in 1 day. Rich kids are more spoiled by Santa" On Bandcamp: Holy Night by The Non Traditionals

Every month, Dutch music platform 3voor12 puts online a compilation of new Dutch artists, in various genres. This month, they asked bands and singers to send in Christmas track. Thirty-one did so. You can stream the comps via the Luisterpaal ( CD1 , CD2 ). Dutch hiphop, Dutch Americana, Dutch rock, Dutch electronica... it's all there (even Chris Rea is!) and most of it is pretty effing great. A few tracks are downloadable, like G.T. Thomas' Winter Birds , iET's Christmas Day , Jörgen Ben Jamin's Days of Christmas and That Band From Holland of course. THIS JUST IN: the gorgeous, Fleet Fox-y song It's Santa! by No Ninja Am I is also downloadable. Here. Go see the video for Bertolfs English Roses (not a Christmas track, more a seasonal song) HERE

For the fifth year in a row The Blues Are Still Blue presents: Christmas Compilation 2009 001 Welcome Wagon - Hail to the Lord's Anointed 002 Feist – Lo, how a rose e’re blooming 003 Storybox - It's Christmas Time 004 The Decemberists - Please daddy (don't get drunk this Christmas) 005 Musee Mecanique - White Christmas 006 Sam Baker - Angel Hair 007 Rilo Kiley - Xmas Cake 008 Boca Chica - Snow Angels 009 Clyde Lasley and the Cadillac Baby Specials - Santa came home drunk 010 Debbie and the Darnells - Santa, Teach Me To Dance 011 Huey Piano Smith - Doing the Santa Claus 012 Mumford and Sons - Winter Winds 013 Nellie McKay - The Christmas Waltz 014 Sam Cooke - Jesus Gave Me Water 015 Ron Sexsmith - Snow Angel 016 The Gasoline Brothers - Hungover Boxing Day 017 Basia Bulat - The Hem Of His Garment 018 That Band From Holland - Santa must be Daddy 019 J.D. McDonald - Boogaloo Santa Claus 020 Weezer - O come all ye faithful 021 Sufjan Stevens - Did I Make You Cry On Christmas D...

That Band from Holland is one of the recurring acts on this blog, under their Non Traditionals moniker they (traditionally) made a Christmas EP. You'll know what you get; smart, home-cooked indie pop. They've served up better tracks than the three presented here, I must say. No 'Santa must be daddy' here. Yet 'Simon Noman', about a guy with a grudge against the winter season ('I put stones in the snowballs') and people in general, is vintage TBFH. All The Jingle Ladies (Christmas EP) by The Non Traditionals

The yearly Christmas A Go Go spectacular in club Paradiso Amsterdam is NIGH, people. On December 16, the cream of the alternative Christmas scene will perform a very versatile bunch of Christmas(-y) songs in the upstairs room. New names, old faves, they're all there. And we hope YOU will there too! So what's in store? GINGE will be present, the Utrecht-based, sultry soul singer who surprised us with her latin-flavoured, anti-Xmas dinner pop song this year. S.LOIS will be performing. Our mascotte. The banjo-wielding maestro from Meppel. The bluegrass boogieman. it's his third time at CAGG and certainly not his last. This is the gorgeous tearjerker he released this season: We are very pleased that Patrick PONDERTONE is performing with a band. His Christmas songs have been highlights on the blog every year. He is upfront about his politically tinted, humane and anti-capitalist opinions in such a way that you can sing along. And although he said he wouldn’t reco...

This is the second post with Christmas prison songs ( part 1 HERE ). The best known songs, John Prine's Christmas in Prison, The Youngsters' Christmas in Jail and Paul Kelly's How To Make Gravy are in part 1, so let's have a roll call for the more obscure and notorious locals: Let's kick off with a few Dutch artists. Frederique Spigt is one of Holland's finest blues singers (she can sing anything really, but there's always a bluesy feel). This sounds like a cover, but is an original from her 2014 album Medicine Show: Talk about blues singers, André Hazes is still (he passed away in 2004) one of Holland's biggest levenslied-zangers. Levenslied translates as 'song of life'; it's a mix of schmaltz and storytelling blues. His first hit from 1976 was called 'Eenzame Kerst' (Lonely Christmas), a story about a man who stole for his family, only to be locked up in jail and his wife sleeping with another man. This one's up there with ...