Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom cover on 'Snow is Falling in Manhattan'
DEAN & BRITTA & SONIC BOOM
Share their take on Purple Mountains "Snow Is Falling In Manhattan"
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New album 'A Peace of Us' out 22nd November on Carpark
On November 22 the trio of Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom - some of indie music’s foundational members - will release a festive album, A Peace of Us, via Carpark Records. With 14 tracks, the LP reimagines an eclectic range of holiday songs through their unique musical lens.
Today they reveal the album’s lead-track, a cover of David Berman’s “Snow Is Falling In Manhattan” which is on its way to becoming a bonafide classic single for this time of year. Wareham says "David Berman’s Purple Mountains is one of the great albums of this century. We were all shocked when he took his life soon after its release, and I recorded a demo of 'Snow is Falling in Manhattan’ for a tribute to him. The song is now updated with a new mix and added vocals by Britta and Sonic Boom. It’s such an evocative song about a snowstorm in New York City and contains one of my favourite Berman stanzas ‘songs build little rooms in time / and housed within the song’s design / is the ghost the host has left behind’ — where it feels like Berman is talking to us from the beyond, he is both ghost and host, and I am the guest who sings his lines.”
Listen to 'Snow Is Falling In Manhattan' here
Taken as a whole, A Peace Of Us brings to life a collection that draws from early ‘60s pop, garage, country, James Bond soundtracks, Christmas carols, and electronica. Dean Wareham recalls a sentiment from his DJ friend Chris: “You can experience all the emotions of Christmas through music: love and hate, joy and heartache, nostalgia, regret, anticipation, and frustration.”
Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500, Luna, Dean & Britta), Britta Phillips (Luna, Dean & Britta) and Sonic Boom’s (Spacemen 3) venture into a holiday album was organic, spurred by a few cover tunes over the years, a Christmas special during the pandemic, and finally collaborative sessions between Dean & Britta in L.A. and Sonic Boom in Portugal. The trio all contributed vocals, with guitars by Wareham, bass and keyboards by Phillips, effects, and mixes by Sonic. The result is an album of exploration as well as comfort, “like Bing Crosby...on acid,” Britta adds, the tracklist a reminder that the holidays are complex and tragicomic.
This collection steers clear of the usual Christmas chestnuts, but fans of classic indie haze may find a new favourite in “Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy” (created for Bing Crosby and David Bowie’s 1977 TV duet). Wareham notes that “Our favourite version is the German one by Marlene Dietrich, so that was our jumping-off point.” All three sing this one together: Wareham’s tenor, then Sonic Boom’s thrumming baritone, and finally Phillips’ soothing contralto making the plea for peace.
If collaboration is the fuel, peace and mutual understanding is surely the fire, and A Peace of Us has us gathered around it. “Christmas is mostly for children anyway,” says Dean. Sonic adds, “Or the inner child in all of us. Goodwill to all men. Hopes and fears for the year to come. And light in the darkness. Where this festival began.”
Track List
1. Snow Is Falling in Manhattan
2. Pretty Paper
3. Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?
4. Old Toy Trains
5. Snow
6. Silver Snowflakes
7. Stille Nacht
8. You're All I Want For Christmas
9. Christmas Can't Be Far Away
10. He's Coming Home
11. Little Altar Boy
12. If We Make It Through December
13. Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy
14. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Socials
Dean: Instagram | X | Facebook
Britta: Instagram | X | Facebook
Sonic Boom: Instagram | X | Facebook
