I really need to stop leaving these to the last possible minute of the day, particularly when I’m busy through the day. And by busy through the day, I mean playing XBox. Still, too late to complain about it now. Enjoy this delightful cover of The Flaming Lips’ Christmas At The Zoo by local favourites It Hugs Back, then head on over to their site where you can also get your hands on another Christmas treat.

Middle Distance Runner are a band that have been on the periphery of my musical radar for some time now, but I’ve never taken the time to get to know them. I often come across blog posts about them, and they often seem to be placed next to artists I love, so I suspect I would really like them. Thankfully I came across their Christmas song, which apparently dates back a few years. Now I’m hooked.

This is about as close to perfect as one can get for a song, let alone a Christmas song. I could extol the virtues of each element of this song, but above all, it’s just ridiculously catchy. Sure, by the end it descends into a mass chorus repeating that’s it Christmas, but by that point you’re willing to let it get away with what could so easily be tacky on another record.

A quick one today as this weekend in general has been rather manic. I don’t really know anything about My Little Pony beyond the fact they are an indiepop band from Norway that Last.fm keeps insisting I should like. Based on this little ball of awesome, I think they might be right.

It seems that every self-respecting indie band is throwing out a free Christmas song this year, and The Joy Formidable enter the fray with My Beerdrunk Soul Is Sadder Than A Hundred Dead Christmas Trees. That is actually the song with the longest title I have ever posted on this blog over the past four years.

I’m still mildly surprised by how much The Joy Formidable’s profile has risen over the past year. Which isn’t to slight them at all, but when I first heard them I would have tipped them to be a critically adored cult band, but that’s about it. Now with packed out festival slots, and sold out headlining tours, it looks as if they are growing well beyond that. I suspect now that we’re going to see even bigger things from them in 2010, although quite how far they can go still remains to be seen.

Lucky Soul are a band that everyone else has always seemed to love more than I do. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly enjoy them and their songs are always fun. Something doesn’t quite sit right with me though. Maybe it’s just that I’m not a big fan of this end of the 60s sound in general. They are certainly good at what they do, and put on one hell of a live set, but they aren’t quite enough for me to rush out to get an album or anything.

Lonely This Christmas will do little to change that. The song actually dates back a few years, but this is a version that’s about a minute and a half shorter as it’s rather less meandering than in it’s original form. It sways along pleasantly, with Ali Howard’s sugary vocals leading things onwards ably enough. It all feels just a little too slight though, much like the majority of the band’s recorded catalogue.

I’m not much one for Christmas compilations, or for Christmas songs for that matter, however things may appear from these posts. Most of them I tend to avoid, but this year a number have managed to intrigue me. The 12 Days of Christmas compilation was one. Cherryade’s A Very Cherry Christmas volume 5 was another. And appearing at the last minute, proving that everything does indeed come in threes, Indiecater Records have released An Indiecater Christmas 2009.

The album features the excellent rendition of Baby, It’s Cold Outside by Allo, Darlin’ that we featured last week, as well some lovely songs from The Garlands, Loxsly and a bunch of others I look forward to getting used to. The song below is from Standard Fare, a Sheffield band recently added to the superb lineup of London Popfest 2010. The bill is now rounding out with Ballboy, The Just Joans, Horowitz as well as the aforementioned Allo, Darlin’ all being announced in the past week. It’s the perfect four days of indiepop joy to bridge the gap until next year’s Indietracks.

This is ridiculously good. I don’t even mean that in the context of a Christmas song either. This is a ridiculously good by what seems to be a ridiculously good band. I’m not sure how I haven’t encountered The Hush Now previously. I intend to change that now though, as any band that have me thinking “these guys are going to be huge” off the back of a Christmas song is obviously doing something right.

Wishing You A Happy Christmas is a Christmas song that doesn’t really sound like one. If you didn’t pay much attention to the words, this would easily slot into the catalogue of another band without anyone questioning it’s place. Hell, this could do that even if you know it’s bringing the festive cheer. It’s a Christmas song that’ll work all year round, and those are very few and far between.

This is absolutely the work of a confident band who are certain of their sound. I can see this lot being everywhere in 2010. The prospect of hearing more from them makes me very excited.

Just a quick one tonight I’m afraid as I got home later than intended and don’t have the sense to prepare my posts in advance. Today’s festive offering is Merry Xmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight) from Boyracer, a Leeds band that has been pumping out material for the best part of two decades now. A fact that makes me sad that this is really the first time I’ve ever heard of them. Still, the song is good fun with a kind of old school indiepop vibe to it, so I’ll definitely be checking out more.

Be sure to go and get the rest of the bands Christmas songs, as featured on their Xmas 2009 EP which is available for free at Bandcamp. It even features a rendition of I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday.

Just when you think your selection of festive songs is taking shape, you get hold a song that throws everything sideways. Of all the bands I would expect to put out a Christmas song, The Sky Drops were not amongst them. You wouldn’t expect a band with a shoegaze kind of sound to be able to pull off something both true to their sound while also fitting the time of year. Christmas Feels Like Halloween comes across with the same kind of sound that the Low Christmas album achieved, and look at how (rightly) beloved that record is these days. Somehow, the The Sky Drops have managed to create a song that remains utterly true to their sound (dreamy vocals and all) while still managing to fit the time of year. Certainly an impressive achievement.

I know I only featured My First Earthquake on here recently, but who can resist posting a Christmas song as catchy as this? Here we have a song that deals with being Jewish at Christmas, the fun of having your birthday a mere two days before the day itself and just wanting a cup of cocoa. Which is a laudable sentiment as apparently Jews aren’t allowed cocoa. Which is something I didn’t know before this song, so who says music can’t be educational? Perhaps best of all though is the video itself. It’s absurdly simplistic really, with singer Rebecca lipsynching along to the words in various festive settings, but it’s all carried off with such joy that it’s impossible to not go with it.