5 Albums You Should Ask Santa For This Christmas

As a foreword, I’d just like to note that these are not very good musical selections for Christmas lunch… Unless you like loud, abrasive and sometimes slightly strange Christmas lunches. In which case, move over Mr King Cole, there’s a new pack o’ rats in town this Christmas. 

Wolf Alice - My Love Is Cool

Wolf Alice have been kicking around for a few years now, releasing a couple of fan-bloody-tastic EPs, and this year we were treated to their first full length album. I’ll be honest here, there was a period of about four to five weeks in which I literally couldn’t turn this off. I mean, I physically couldn’t turn it off it’s that good. I can’t even get into specifics because if I do, I won’t be able to stop (again) and you’ll be reading this until Christmas day. Just promise me you’ll listen to it, okay? 

Top Track – ‘Your Loves Whore’

Girl Band - Holding Hands With Jamie

It’s pretty rare to find a pop album that really makes you want to jump out of your seat, grab a bottle of JD, stick on a leather jacket and kick a TV out of the window. Luckily for us, Girl Band have managed to do exactly that with their debut album ‘Holding Hands With Jamie’. Their noisy, slurred brand of punky, grimey, poppy weirdness not only contains some of the most ingenious guitar and vocal work you’ll hear this year, but also pumps you so full of rockstar adrenaline that by the first track, Grandma will be wondering why you just punted Ratatouille out of the window on Christmas day. 

Top Track – ‘Umbongo’

Rustie - EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE

If you haven’t listened to Rustie before, I urge you to check out his first album Glass Swords’ before taking the plunge into the complete mind-bender that is ‘EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE’. That’s not to compare the two or suggest one is better than the other, but more to prepare you for the barrage of crazy you’re in for with his latest instalment. Imagine if Drake and Deadmau5 created the soundtrack for a Sonic the Hedgehog game in the ‘90s (bear with me here) but you’re in Rotterdam on the front end of a three-day bender at a Gabber festival… I’m not really selling it very well but trust me, it’s bonkers and totally brilliant in every way.

Top Track – ‘First Mythz’

Oheohtrix Point Never - Garden of Delete

Similarly to Girl Band, if you want a weird, abrasive Christmas but with an Electronic soundtrack, look no further. This album manages to merge so many themes, styles and sounds, it’s difficult to pinpoint what exact pigeonhole it should sit in. But who cares about genres when it sounds this good, right? You’ll be lucky to find any consistent beats here, but the synth work manages more than capably on its own. Intricate yet all over the place, in-your-face yet subtle, this is one of the most interesting records I’ve heard in years.  

Top Track – ‘I Bite Through It’

Hudson Mohawke - Lantern

Hudson Mohawke stepped up his game earlier this year with what I would consider his most accomplished sound to date. For those of you unfamiliar with Hudson Mohawke (although I can’t imagine there’s many of you) we’ve been waiting quite a while for this new record to drop, and drop it did! Although brilliant, his last full-length release was so wonky it became quite a tiring listen after a few tracks. This latest instalment not only keeps the wonky dream alive, it also features some of the most fantastic sampling, melodies and instrumentation you’re likely to hear this Christmas, making it a hugely accomplished record. I wish I could do anything as well as Hudmo manages to find samples. He’s so good at it, it’s actually annoying.  

Top Track – ‘Kettles’ and then ‘Scud Books’ straight after.