IF YOU REALLY LOVE CHRISTMAS...
Words By: Raymond Chicane.
Despite the fact that I was told several times that this was a Christmas album, it wasn’t until I spun the tunes that I realised it was actually a Christmas themed album. Had I known that it was Christmas themed or ‘Xmas’ themed as the folk from Circle would have me put it, I’m not sure that I would have put it in my CD player! The idea of a Sydney band who have been described as many things including “Australia’s answer to the Flaming Lips” as well as “Cat Stevens at 15 walking through a candy store”, writing and recording 6 (or as it turns out 7), Xmas songs is a very challenging concept. Yeah... a bit like Bill Nighy’s character in Love Actually. Rest assured Xmas Omas is nothing to be afraid of.
Safi explains: “Xmas is an idea that all children love and it certainly doesn’t belong to any one group of people. We wanted to capture some of that magic as well as express some of our own personal feelings toward the subject. Sure it’s a bit of a concept album and I’ve always had certain gripes with conceptual art but the moment presented itself and so we went with it...”
So Xmas Omas was born and what an absolute indie pop gem it is! The opening track Old Holidays (the opener on their last album was New Holidays and this little play on titles is one of the reasons I love this band so much), is typical Circle for the first 30 seconds anyway until we’re introduced to the vocal styling of their newest band member Ines Vas de Souz. It isn’t the first time that we’ve heard Safi alongside a female voice but Iny appears on 5 of the tracks and this new addition will not disappoint fans.
December 1983 is the first single from the album and is a beautiful song about nothing short of a deep dark secret. It’s a very moving track that that had the hairs on my arms standing on end and yet I still wanted to dance! Typical of Circle, the songs continue to reveal nuances and golden moments with each listen. The aptly titled Oh My God! deals with selfishness and global issues such as endangered species’ while Damaged Goods and Wonderful Man offer up some very punchy and enjoyable indie pop moments. The album is bookended by quite possibly my favourite song on offer: Henry James. This track is nothing short of lush and majestic and the string trio the band brought in to help them, pulls all stops when called upon.
The album which I have been told is an EP (more like a mini-album in my opinion), is due for release in December and despite Circle’s history with various distributors and labels looks to be an independent release for the time being. Look out for the wonderful James Stuart samples on the secret track Bedford Falls.
Words By: Raymond Chicane.
Despite the fact that I was told several times that this was a Christmas album, it wasn’t until I spun the tunes that I realised it was actually a Christmas themed album. Had I known that it was Christmas themed or ‘Xmas’ themed as the folk from Circle would have me put it, I’m not sure that I would have put it in my CD player! The idea of a Sydney band who have been described as many things including “Australia’s answer to the Flaming Lips” as well as “Cat Stevens at 15 walking through a candy store”, writing and recording 6 (or as it turns out 7), Xmas songs is a very challenging concept. Yeah... a bit like Bill Nighy’s character in Love Actually. Rest assured Xmas Omas is nothing to be afraid of.
Safi explains: “Xmas is an idea that all children love and it certainly doesn’t belong to any one group of people. We wanted to capture some of that magic as well as express some of our own personal feelings toward the subject. Sure it’s a bit of a concept album and I’ve always had certain gripes with conceptual art but the moment presented itself and so we went with it...”
So Xmas Omas was born and what an absolute indie pop gem it is! The opening track Old Holidays (the opener on their last album was New Holidays and this little play on titles is one of the reasons I love this band so much), is typical Circle for the first 30 seconds anyway until we’re introduced to the vocal styling of their newest band member Ines Vas de Souz. It isn’t the first time that we’ve heard Safi alongside a female voice but Iny appears on 5 of the tracks and this new addition will not disappoint fans.
December 1983 is the first single from the album and is a beautiful song about nothing short of a deep dark secret. It’s a very moving track that that had the hairs on my arms standing on end and yet I still wanted to dance! Typical of Circle, the songs continue to reveal nuances and golden moments with each listen. The aptly titled Oh My God! deals with selfishness and global issues such as endangered species’ while Damaged Goods and Wonderful Man offer up some very punchy and enjoyable indie pop moments. The album is bookended by quite possibly my favourite song on offer: Henry James. This track is nothing short of lush and majestic and the string trio the band brought in to help them, pulls all stops when called upon.
The album which I have been told is an EP (more like a mini-album in my opinion), is due for release in December and despite Circle’s history with various distributors and labels looks to be an independent release for the time being. Look out for the wonderful James Stuart samples on the secret track Bedford Falls.