Steveless/ Syd Howells - Yo Ho Ho...A Selection Of Xmas Treats

  by Jamie Rowland

published: 18 / 11 / 2005

Label: Fuku
Format: CDS

intro

Joyously noisy, limited-to-50 copies Christmas songs from Welsh indie rockers Steveless and Syd Howells

If you’re fed up listening to the same old Wizzard, Slade and Sir Cliff, then this release on FuKu Recordings might just be the thing to make you happy for the New Year. Swansea’s finest export, the music of Steveless (Dan Newman) and Syd Howells, is a joyously noisy experience. This special Christmas release consists of two original improvised tracks, ‘Seasonal Schizophrenia’ and ‘So This Is What Dying Is Like (Xmas In Swansea)’, and two traditional Christmas songs which have been “dismantled” by Newman and Howells. The two original tracks are punky, funky, lo-fi rock songs full of enough jingle bells, kazoos and cries of “Thank Christ for Christmas!” to make even the Scroogiest of hum-buggers feel all warm and festive. The traditional re-workings sound pretty damn nasty, but are no more threatening than the prospect of seeing all those family members you don’t really like. 'Christ Made a Trance', with it’s rhythm like a death-march and talk of a very mossy underworld, and 'Christ was Born in Bethlehem', like a carol service from 'The Wicker Man', are just the thing when you’re looking for an alternative Christmas. This release is a very enjoyable listen, and the perfect antidote to all the blandness currently battling for Christmas No. 1. These boyos are nuttier than your mum’s nut stuffing, and if you want them to grace your musical plate this festive season, you’d better be swift about it, as it’s limited to just 50 copies. Well, what are you waiting for? Go, go, go!

Track Listing:-