Home Fires Burning: A Holiday Compilation from Red on Red Records

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Red on Red Records just celebrated their first anniversary, and they've quickly become a go to label for fantastic local multi-genre rock. Their new holiday music EP shows off that diversity perfectly. Home Fires Burning: A Holiday Compilation from Red on Red Records starts off with "Reindeer Twist" from Stupidity and featuring Keith Streng from The Fleshtones. It has this early punk meets rockabilly sound of bands like X or The Cramps, but a toned down one for holiday consumption. It also includes "An Irishman for Christmas" by Berk/Lehane which came out last year. It's a song by Simone Berk (Kid Gulliver, Sugar Snow) and Dennis Lehane (The Dogmatics) that's a holiday power pop song about wanting an Irishman for Christmas despite being Jewish. One of our favorite Boston punk bands, Linnea's Garden, gives us "All Eight Nights" which, in true Linnea's Garden fashion is a double entendre about lasting all eight nights. This one is more of a singer/songwriter affair with an electric guitar instead of their more bombastic full band songs. "Coat of Snow" is the offering from Cold Expectations and is a little power pop song with some New Wave-ish elements. Justine's Black Threads close out the EP with their Americana version of "Angels We Have Heard on High."

You can listen to "All Eight Nights" below. To get your copy of Home Fires Burning: A Holiday Compilation from Red on Red Records, head over to the label's Bandcamp.

On Repeat...

Liam Kazar - "Shoes Too Tight"

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Photo by Alexa Viscius This may be Liam Kazar's debut single, but the Chicago based musician already has an impressive resume, having worked with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and others. "Shoes Too Tight" features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, and Ohmme on vocals. It's an absurdly fun and groovy little song that is a party waiting to happen. What he gives us here is a timeless song that could truly have been released any time since the 1960's (ok... maybe not the 80's...) There are elements of classic rock, 60's crooners and R&B, indie rock, modern Americana... it's really just packed with everything in a cohesive song that maintains the vibe the entire way through. You can watch the video for "Shoes Too Tight" below. For more on Liam Kazar, check him out on Instagram and Twitter . He's also raising money on his Bandcamp for Constellation and The Hungry Brain. ...
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The Freqs - "Witch"

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Photo via Facebook When you're a rock band from Salem, MA, you have to have at least one song about witchcraft. The Freqs have fulfilled their obligation with a banger of a song. "Witch" is this giant monster of a song, filled with fuzz and strained, screaming vocals. This is the type of song that doesn't usually exist in this century. It's giving me some serious 90's flashbacks, like if Hum got aggressive or Alice in Chains decided to do some damage on the college charts. As great as the vocals are in "Witch," what's really drawing me in is the instrumental break down that takes over about halfway through. This is the kind of song to make the hipsters and the headbangers equally excited. You can listen to "Witch" below. For more on The Freqs, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram . The Freqs · Witch
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Dutch ReBelle - "GOONIEZ"

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How is Dutch ReBelle not a national superstar at this point? The Boston MC just released "GOONIEZ," and I know I'm a bit out of touch with current mainstream hip hop, but this song is absolutely killer. It's a stripped down hip hop song that has this futuristic space age sound to it. Plus, ReBelle's flow is unsurpassed. You can't listen to her and not be completely sucked in. The song has a feel reminiscent of classic Missy Elliott. As much as I love that we can still see Dutch ReBelle in smaller Boston venues, "GOONIEZ" proves she should be playing much larger venues nationwide very, very soon. You can watch the video for "GOONIEZ" below. For more on Dutch ReBelle, check out the artist's website . 
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