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Oct 02, 2024 By Andy Von Pip Photography by Samantha Tyson

It’s not too early for Christmas music right?

A trio composed of pioneering indie music figures —Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom—have announced their upcoming album A Peace of Us, set for release on November 22 via Carpark Records. The LP features a unique mix of holiday tunes reimagined through their distinct musical styles.

Dean & Britta, known for their genre-defining work with Galaxie 500 and Luna, have teamed up with Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3), another cornerstone of indie music’s formative years, to create a collection that draws influences from early ‘60s pop, garage, country, James Bond soundtracks, Christmas carols, and electronica. Reflecting on the project, Dean Wareham shares 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.”

Today, they offer the first glimpse of the album with their rendition of Willie Nelson’s “Pretty Paper.” Delivered as a duet between Britta and Sonic Boom, their version transforms the song into a synth-heavy production, more fitting for a darkened nightclub than a bright honky tonk. Wareham adds, “This was a hit for Roy Orbison in 1963, and while it’s a pretty song, the lyrics—about a man sitting alone on the sidewalk outside a department store, selling ribbons and paper—are sad. ‘And in the midst of the laughter, he cries.’”

Britta arranged this version in the style of their synth-heavy score for the Noah Baumbach / Greta Gerwig film Mistress America.

Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom’s journey into creating a holiday album came about naturally, sparked by covering a few seasonal tunes over the years, a Christmas special during the pandemic, and eventually collaborative sessions between Dean & Britta in L.A. and Sonic Boom in Portugal. All three contributed vocals, with guitars by Wareham, bass and keyboards by Phillips, and effects and mixing by Sonic Boom. The result is an album that balances exploration with comfort. “Like Bing Crosby…on acid,” Britta describes, with a tracklist that acknowledges the complexity and tragicomic nature of the holidays.

As often accompanies holiday cheer, there is a gentle undertone of bittersweetness throughout the album. Wareham takes on one of David Berman’s final songs, “Snow is Falling in Manhattan,” which he believes is “destined to be a holiday classic.” The lyrics, foreshadowing Berman’s tragic death, read: “Songs build little rooms in time / and housed within the song’s design / is the ghost the host has left behind.”

This collection avoids the usual Christmas standards, but fans of classic indie haze might discover a new favorite in “Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy,” originally created for Bing Crosby and David Bowie’s 1977 TV duet. “Our favorite version is the German one by Marlene Dietrich, so that was our jumping-off point,” Wareham explains. The trio sing this one together: Wareham’s tenor leads, followed by Sonic Boom’s deep baritone, and Phillips’ soothing contralto, all joining in to make a plea for peace.

If collaboration is the foundation, then peace and mutual understanding are the fire that keeps A Peace of Us alight. “Christmas is mostly for children anyway,” Dean reflects. 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.”

Tracklist:

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)

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