From The Bottom Of The Record Box

Merry Christmas, fuzzy avant-garde folk infused strangeness from Japan are this week's focus and bring us delight in bucket loads. Merry Christmas bring a much needed antidote to the norm with their fun and enthusiastic songbook. Eschewing the music industry norms, their innocent but ultimately thought provoking music is a welcome break from tradition. Their debut LP The Night The Night Fell opens with glockenspiel and signature ballistic rhythm bursts before opening up to wonderfully simple melody. It's a sound both bold and gently simple and gives way to arresting synth bursts that will wake up the most disinterested of ears. The loose concept album follows a journey quite like no other. Despite the at times gawkish tunes Merry Christmas are not without music sentimentality. The tender First Lull offers a glimpse into the more introspective side of the band. With its vocal harmonies mirroring each other perfectly and playing out of the acoustic guitar and ever present glockenspiel, this track feels like a b