UPDATE: So, shortly after I posted this installment, Sounds Familyre released Volume 3, completely for free. It is definitely the most consistenly good album in this series yet.

Stream Volume 1 here. Stream Volume 2 here.

Sounds Familyre is a cool independent record label serving a bunch of weird independent musicians. At the center of it all is Daniel Smith, head of the avant-folk-Gospel ensemble The Danielson Famile, who are the Most Triumphant Example of an acquired taste. All the other musicians on the SF label are Daniel's friends or family; these include Woven Hand and Sufjan Stevens.

In December 2007, they put out a Christmas compilation for free download. In December 2008, they put out a sequel. Both albums were taken down days after Christmas. For some reason, they haven't been reposted this year, but somehow they'd been preserved at the links above. UPDATE: The first two albums are no longer available for free download, though they can be streamed for free, or purchased, at the above links. Volume 3, however, is a completely free download, for now.

While almost all the stuff falls within the "vaguely folkish" genre, the musicians still manage to show off a wide variety of weirdness. I can pretty much guarantee that you're not going to like everything on these albums, but you will like something, and it won't be the same something that I like. So I recommend that you download all the songs, give them all a good listen, and delete the ones you don't like. That's what I did! Below are my results:

The Innocence Mission — "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" A very sparse acoustic rendition of a good hymn. (Oddly enought, I have a few vinyl singles by The Innocence Mission, and they sound almost nothing like this. Also, they're not really members of SF.)

Soul-Junk — "Dayspring from on High" Soul-Junk's overall body of work defies categorization: a mess of lo-fi folk rock, noise-jazz, and experimental hip-hop. This song is downright normal in comparison.

Ben + Vesper — "Rest is All Normal Ones Want" B-n-V write sorta folky pop, or sorta poppy folk. It's hit-or-miss for me. This is a hit.

Danielson — "Holly Jolly Christmas Cookie" This is an odd song for the Danielson. Rather than his usual assortment of musicians, Daniel Smith is joined by his wife and children. Said wife and kids handle the main vocal duties for the song (Smith himself is limited to the backing vocals obsessing over cookies), and that alone makes the song about a million times more listenable than a normal Danielson recording.

Dan Zimmerman — "In the Bleak Midwinter" A very atmospheric take on this song. The song itself I can take or leave. I mean, who can't help but love lyrics like:

So, you're saying snow was involved?

It may sound like glurge, but this is serious, weighty theology here: apparently there's a loophole in Christianity that says shepherds get a discount on salvation. They're allowed to give a lamb in lieu of their heart.

Lenny Smith — "Finally, It's Christmas Eve" Estranged darlings are reunited in time for Christmas. D'aaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwww.

Half-handed Cloud — "Plant a Little Fir Tree" Have you ever wondered what Sufjan Stevens would sound like without any guest musicians or attention span? Wonder no longer.

Liz Janes — "Mary's Song" This is just lovely.

Ortolan — "What Child is This?" Also lovely, with the necessary undercurrent of creepiness that the source material demands. Love that guitar.

I Was a King — "Over Mountains" This is pleasant, but that's all. In retrospect, maybe I should have deleted it. But back in 2005 or 2006, I bet I would have thought this was the coolest thing ever.

Yours Truly — "One Short Block (Deathbed's Teddy Bear)" I'm completely baffled. The lyrics sound like some kind of nihilist Christmas special (It's All Meaningless, Charlie Brown!), but considering this is coming from Sounds Familyre, I have a very hard time believing that's what it really means.

Half-handed Cloud — "Home for Christmas" Oh, it's this guy again.

Okay, John, you win this round.

Rachel and Jon Galaxy — "Hush Sweet Baby" The wife and son of Glen Galaxy, the man behind Soul-Junk.

John Zimmerman — "Whence Comes This Rush" Another this guy again. An odd mix of bluesy and atmospheric.

Joshua Stamper — "Swaddling" An instrumental song. With a trombone solo!

Lenny Smith — "For there is Born a Child" I failed to mention before that this guy is Daniel Smith's dad. This is a quality song with some solid lyrics.

Wha?

Joshua Stamper — "Immanuel" Oh, it's the trombone player again. No 'bone this time. This song is even better.

What is is with these weird Christmas songs and blood-stained war cloaks?

Ohhhhhh.

The Singing Mechanic — "When Christmas Came to Me" Now this song took me completely by surprise. The music is rather old-timey, and the lyrics are about having to rely on the kindness of strangers.

Relying completely on someone else like that is a very humbling experience.

Wait, what?

OH SNAP it's the prodigal son story all over again.

Well played, Singing Mechanic, well played.

Woven Hand — "I Wonder as I Wander" Wait, David Eugene Edwards doesn't do happy, he only does creepy stuff!  ^*

Naturally, he found one of the few Christmas traditionals that sounds good when it's done all industrial and creepy-like.

Elin — "Oh Holy Night" LISTEN TO THIS SONG

Her full name is Elin Smith; she's married to Daniel Smith.

Sufjan Stevens — "Good King Wenceslas" Hey, Saeglopur, are you reading this? Remember when the preview tracks from The Age of Adz first hit the internet, and I was all "Oh, that's not too weird, he did a Christmas song in that style"? This is the song I was referring to. This big bouncing ball of warbling monosynths (with Sufjan's vocoder-ed voice crooning over it) is the reason why I didn't think "I Walked" that that much of a stylistic departure.

If you only listen to one track, listen to: Elin's version of "Oh Holy Night" on Vol 1.

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