Piney Gir "Oh God You Devil" music video

“EXPERTLY CRAFTED INDIEPOP” (BROOKLYN VEGAN) OF PINEY GIR WRAPS UP TOUR WITH GAZ COOMBES, UNVEILS NEW ANIMATED VIDEO

Piney Gir – the London-based, Kansas-raised indie pop artist who was not allowed to listen to pop music until the age of 14 – is earning raves for ‘Mr. Hyde’s Wild Ride’ (Greyday) as she supported the national tour by Gaz Coombes (Supergrass) in the past few weeks. Paste Magazine premiered the “Mouse of a Ghost,” featuring a drunk, animated penguin president planning to bomb Disney World.

Here's the brand new "Tilt a Whirl" video.

Here’s what we’ve hearing and reading:

“I love it.”
- Gaz Coombes

“Expertly crafted indiepop... She’s got a way with unusual but instantly catchy melodies, and the album’s full of clever production touches.”
- Bill Pearis, Brooklyn Vegan, March 22, 2016

“Enchanted pop world… Anthem-thematic exercise-orchestration where each song has this cleverly arranged thrill pop odyssey.”
- Sjimon Gompers, Impose Mag, January 9, 2016

“Nearly supernatural knack for gently askew pop songcraft.”
- Steve Smith, Boston Globe, March 23, 2016

“Delightful.”
- Pure Volume, April 5, 2016

“A melodic orgy of vibrant sounds… [Piney Gir] creates a fresh brand of whimsical indie-pop that’s drawn fair comparisons to Apples In Stereo and Jenny Lewis.”
- Michael Marotta, Vanyaland, March 25, 2016

“Beautiful melodies and catchy tunes.”
- Joey Willis, Glide Mag, December 26, 2015

“Her whimsical - but never cloying - tunes have bright, catchy melodies and her voice has a charming lilt… her songs have an underpinning of steel-strong craft.”
- Marianne Meyer, Examiner, March 31, 2016

Piney Gir 2015-16 clips

Brooklyn Vegan item (March 22, 2016)

Impose Mag video premiere (January 9, 2016)

Paste Magazine video premiere (December 21, 2015)

PINEY GIR SUPPORTING GAZ COOMBES (FORMER SUPERGRASS FRONTMAN) US TOUR STARTING MARCH 21

Piney Gir – the indie rock artist who was not allowed to listen to pop music until the age of 14 – will tour with former Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes as support act. Brooklyn Vegan has already previewed the tour.

Piney Gir’s new album ‘Mr. Hyde’s Wild Ride’ (Greyday Records / February 19) has already been spotlighted by Impose, Pop Matters, Huffington Post, and Paste Magazine. ‘Mr. Hyde’s Wild Ride’ features her signature wild Brian Wilson-esque harmonies along with some of her most incisive lyrics to date, and addresses her hyper-religious upbringing.

“Mouse of a Ghost” music video.

Gaz Coombes/Piney Gir North American Tour Dates:

March 21 - Philadelphia, PA - The Underground Arts
March 22 - Vienna, VA - Jammin' Java
March 24 - New York, NY - Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2
March 25 - New York, NY - Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2
March 26 - Boston, MA - David Friend Recital Hall, Berklee College of Music
March 28 - Toronto, ON - The Drake Hotel
March 30 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
April 1 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
April 2 - Los Angeles, CA - Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever

Piney's pulled together a stellar band on ‘Mr. Hyde’s Wild Ride,’ with members of Coombes’ and Emiliana Torrini's touring band jumping in on guitar, bass and drums alongside The Smith Brothers & regular collaborator Garo Nahoulakian takes a seat in the producer’s chair. Andy Ramsay of Stereolab makes an appearance on drums; the bulk of the album was recorded in his South London studio. The rest was whipped-up in Piney’s little Hackney Studio, small and perfectly formed like a musical toy box, chock-full of space echo, marimba, omnichord and pocket piano, which combine to create a euphoric indie-starshine. Think Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips alongside sparkling tableaux of Mercury Rev., the tunefulness of Grandaddy and riff-led counter-melodies like The Pixies.

PINEY GIR CROWDSOURCES COVER ART FOR 'MR. HYDE'S WILD RIDE,' OUT FEB 19 ON GREYDAY

IMPOSE MAG RUNS Q&A AS INDIE POP AUTEUR TALKS ABOUT HER OWN ROLLER COASTER

Kansas-born UK-based indie pop artist Piney Gir crowdsourced the cover of ‘Mr. Hyde’s Wild Ride’ (Greyday Records / February 19) asking friends and fans alike to take a mug shot of themselves, giving life to the title ‘Mr. Hyde’s Wild Ride.’ Written during a hard year that saw her displaced by gentrification, loss of a job, and the death of a friend but with things looking upon its recording, she meditated on drastic changes of the past years. “The mug shots symbolized the way I felt 'jailed' by this set of circumstances and the photo on the inside shows me wearing black and white like an old-fashioned prisoner, escaped and running through a tunnel with a light at the end of it. That photo symbolizes my freedom.”

The result is like a Sgt. Pepper cover for the digital age. She says, “I did an appeal to friends, family and fans to send in their mug shots for the cover and I am so pleased with the results - it looks like a big army of loved ones to me - like an extended family portrait!  From my mom, grandparents, cousins and their kids, to Ian Damaged and his wife Alison Wonderland [he runs Damaged Goods, she's a rock photographer]. There is also Mark Radcliffe [a BBC radio DJ and music personality], Tom White from the band Electric Soft Parade, of course the Piney band are all on there, and a few dogs. Friends, kids and fans too.” MC Lars and the Real Tuesday Weld round out the members of the musical community who participated. (Oh and a certain publicist as well!) An album that began with a rollercoaster, Jekyll-and-Hyde cycle ended with the whole world of Piney Gir joining her, each featured in mug shots, on the cover. Piney reflects, “"if an album is the sum of its parts, this part is fan-generated and that is a beautiful, creative interaction to have with people." Here’s the list of participants and their “crimes”: http://www.pineygir.com/mr-hydes-wild-ride-crimes/

Piney Gir: From Pentecostal upbringing to questioning God

It undoubtedly influenced Kansas-via-London UK artist Piney Gir’s fascinating music that she was raised in a strict Pentecostal household and not allowed to listen to pop music until the age of 14.

But where did the Pentecostal upbringing leave her in terms of her current beliefs. She addresses it in the new song “Oh God You Devil,” which asks God some questions directly. In contrast to the upbeat, kinetic nature of most of ‘Mr. Hyde’s Wild Ride,’ “Oh God You Devil” kicks off with hums in some kind of Dorian mode, typically used in India for mediation. Lyrics like, "Why can't I see you? ... I don't believe you... When you hide can you still see me?" She answers her own questions in the final verse, singing, "Isn't life as luck would have it?" Piney says, “Sealing the deal that perhaps this girl doesn't have much belief in God, at least not the God that is pitched to us in Western culture with the big white beard, sitting on a cloud punishing everyone.”

Early praise has already come from Pop Matters, Paste, and Glide for ‘Mr. Hyde’s Wild Ride,’ coming out February 19 on Greyday Records. It’s a new artistic high water mark, as she’s left behind her influences and found her own style and voice. Piney is planning select US tour dates.

Piney Gir "Mouse of a Ghost" video

PINEY GIR RELEASES BRIGHT, BOLD POP ALBUM 'MR. HYDE'S WILD RIDE' IN AMERICA FEBRUARY 19 ON GREYDAY RECORDS

Indie-pop musician Piney Gir is gearing up for the American release of 'mR. hYDE'S wILD rIDE,' an album that finds the UK-based singer exploring everything from psychedelic pop to British folk to '90s grunge. The songs are bright and bold, glued together by the melodies Piney has been writing since her days in the American Midwest. Already released in the U.K., where Piney has lived for more than a decade, the "undeniably charming" album (The Sun) will bring its "sweet, 60s pop" (Uncut) to American stores on February 19th, courtesy of Greyday Records.

Piney was raised in a religious household, where her fundamentalist parents didn't allow their daughter to listen to popular music until the age of 14. Growing up in rural Kansas certainly left a mark on her earlier albums, with outlets like NPR noting the similarities to country artists like Tammy Wynette and Patsy Cline. On 'mR. hYDE'S wILD rIDE,' though, she steers her ship into more pop-influenced waters. Piney gets a little help from her friends, too, with Stereolab drummer Andy Ramsey lending both his percussion and his studio to the recording process. Band members of Gaz Coombes and Emiliana Torrini also chipped in, adding shimmering keyboards, distorted guitars, chirping harmonies and even marimba to Piney's songs. The result is a record that sounds both retro and futuristic, taking the listeners on -- ahem -- a wild ride over the course of 12 songs.

The fuzzy, buzzing "Gold Rules" — one of the album's kickoff singles —  nods to the harmonized alt-pop of the Breeders. In the song's music video, Piney whips up a batch of miniature desserts before jumping onstage to perform with a band full of stringed marionettes. It's a sugar-sweet and utterly unique clip, two descriptors that also apply to mR. hYDE'S wILD rIDE as a whole.



Already released in the U.K., where Piney has lived for more than a decade, Mr. Hyde's Wild Ride is the sound of a songwriter making multiple genres her own.

Piney Gir - Mr Hyde’s Wild Ride

"Sweet 60's pop from Kansas Chameleon"
- UNCUT ****

"Undeniably charming"
- THE SUN ***

"Varying emotions and mutations are part of her unexpected strength"
- MOJO ***

"Exuberant, bursts with joy, divine and sometimes mournful"
Q Magazine Top Pick

Piney Gir - Mr Hyde’s Wild Ride

We present “Mr Hyde’s Wild Ride” – twelve top pop stories about a young woman coming to terms
with the hope and regret that accompanies love and loss. Piney's easy way with melody belies an
album of new and different shades to albums past. Change is in the air, and the characters that
populate these songs seem ready to tell it like it is, like Dorothy Parker’s snappy comebacks, as
surprising to them as to us.

Being Piney Gir, she can't resist the perkiness of a finely-honed, heavenly tune on opener Gold
Rules, even as the song celebrates unreachable riches and glibly states the fact, “you can’t take it
with you anyway.” First single, Keep It Together deftly channels 60s beat pop and Stereolab all at
the same time, a lover's lament laced with urgency and optimism, piped-in directly from her spaceage,
bachelorette pad.

Other stand-out earworms include Tilt A Whirl, a piece of fairground philosophy that dates back to
childhood years when Piney would accompany her grandmother on something akin to the Waltzer.
As the song spins, with Farfisas swirling round life's ups and downs "like a shooting star or a hope
combustible..." become metaphors among the lights and sounds. Mouse Of A Ghost fuzzes up like
Pineys-in-Toyland channelling her inner riot grrl, with boxy guitar blasts that remind us all that you
can rock just as hard, if not harder, in a gingham dress.

As ever Piney's pulled together a stellar band, with members of Gaz Coombes and Emiliana Torrini's
touring band jumping in on guitar, bass and drums alongside The Smith Brothers & regular
collaborator Garo Nahoulakian takes a seat in the producer’s chair. Andy Ramsay of Stereolab
makes an appearance on drums; the bulk of the album was recorded in his South London studio.
The rest was whipped-up in Piney’s little Hackney Studio, small and perfectly formed like a musical
toy box, chock-full of space echo, marimba, omnichord and pocket piano, which combine to create
a euphoric indie-starshine. Think Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips alongside sparkling tableaux of Mercury
Rev., the tunefulness of Grandaddy and riff-led counter-melodies like The Pixies.

After a decade spent in the UK it feels like Piney's finally made England hers by rediscovering
America, re-imagined from London's rainy streets, channelling her inner Jekyll and Mister Hyde,
“because there’s two sides to everything, right?” These tunes beautifully stitch together English
folk, American pop, mariachi moments, trail songs and baroque beats. Sometimes it's like an alternative
musical history of a storybook amusement park ride. And need we mention, it's a wild ride
you're gonna love...

Piney Gir 2015 music videos

Piney Gir bio

Piney Gir hails from the American Midwest, home of wide-open plains with sunflowers that go on
as far as the Earth curves. The “you’re not in Kansas anymore” jokes never wear thin, because
Piney embraces her heritage bringing it with her to the UK, where she’s lived in London for over a
decade now (yes she does have a sparkly red shoe collection & yes she wears a lot of gingham).

Piney was raised to fear God, like a lot of kids in the Bible-belt she wasn’t taught about Darwin in
schools, she memorised Bible verses and chapters every week... It was this religious upbringing
that spurred her into rock ‘n’ roll. “All we like sheep have gone astray...” Isaiah 53:6.

All teenagers rebel, but Piney had a lot to rebel against and so she went through a series of
extremes on an epic journey to figure out what’s what and who the heck she actually is. She was a
bit of a Laura Palmer, with a mysterious double life burbling underneath her wholesome persona.
After lots of phases, from pop to goth, hippy, rocker, hip-hopper, metaller, psychedelic traveller,
straight-edger, grunger, raver, country rocker, folky lady, funkadelic, electro-girl, jazz lover, mod,
rockabilly quiff-wearer... she finally settled on ‘everything’ as a genre for herself. Because the
conclusion that Piney came to was that she didn’t need to be categorised and that maybe not
being categorised could be her niche. “If you appreciate many types of music, why only limit
yourself to one thing all the time? So much inspires me!” she says. But there is a Piney Sound: it’s
perfectly-formed indie-pop with tuneful riffs and Piney’s lovely voice unifying it all. With that lyrical
rhyme/reason that you can’t quite put your finger on; it’s pleasing, charming and poetic.

Piney Gir thanks the church for her early music education – she went to one of those Pentecostal
churches with speaking in tongues and fainting – music was a big part of the Sunday ritual and
there was a lot of drama in the sermons. She also thanks her glamorous Aunt Mary for the piano
lessons without whom she would have never learned her scales... she then took up the drums and
studied them for 10 years going to University to major in music. Her drums were nicked from her
ghetto apartment, and so she changed her major to voice (which nobody can steal). Never really
having the voice for Verdi, she moved to London after uni to see what she could see. It never
occurred to her that she might sing in a band and write songs, but she knew she liked singing and
writing songs (she was 9 when she wrote her first song).

When she moved to London she worked in a cocktail bar & took some classes at St. Martins
mainly to meet people & find new ways of expressing herself, and it was then she joined a synth
pop duo called Vic Twenty... Vic Twenty released a single on a Mute label and toured UK and
Europe with synth-pop legendary duo Erasure. Vic Twenty split up and thus Piney Gir the solo
artist was born and this is Piney’s discography so far...

“Peakahokahoo” Piney Gir - Truck Records 2004
“Hold Your Horses” The Piney Gir Country Roadshow - Truck Records 2006
“The Yearling” Piney Gir - Hotel Records 2009
“Jesus Wept” The Piney Gir Country Roadshow - Damaged Goods 2010
“Geronimo!” Piney Gir – Damaged Goods 2011
“Mr Hyde’s Wild Ride” – Damaged Goods 2015

Piney has toured the UK and Europe extensively playing big festivals, small stages, toilet venues,
night clubs, gay bars, art galleries, theatres, churches and pop-up shops. She even did her first
tour of America, having played CMJ Festival and South By Southwest. She did 2 national radio
sessions for NPR, including a gig at the esteemed Mountain Stage, which was a real milestone for
her. “It’s nice to feel welcomed by your homeland,” says Piney. She will be playing a few select UK
festivals and touring Mr. Hyde's Wild Ride spring/summer 2015.

"A new Piney Gir album is always a reason to celebrate on The Other Woman. Angela
Penhaligon has one of the best voices and is one of the finest songwriters in the
business."
Ruth Barnes, The Other Woman, Amazing Radio

UNCUT **** - Sweet 60's pop from Kansas Chameleon

THE SUN *** - Undeniably charming

MOJO *** - Varying emotions and mutations are part of her unexpected strength

GUARDIAN *** - A retro delight

It’s pretty impossible to actively dislike Piney Gir, what with her pretty prom frocks, feisty
attitude and general chirpiness all forming the background to her perky country-tinged pop
This Is Fake DIY

Exuberant, bursts with joy, divine and sometimes mournful
Q Magazine top picks

Sandy Posey twinned with Dolly Parton with exceptionally good lyricism. If Jesus were to
hear it, he’d surely approve.
Shindig

Instantly grabs you by the scruff of your neck and leaves you a toe-tapping, line-dancing
maniac
Narc Magazine

The type of open-hearted pop that has you clutching your knees with glee
Drowned In Sound

Piney is a born entertainer, all dainty dress swirls and extravagant accordion flourishes
The Fly

Piney Gir 2015-16 artwork

NICK LOSS-EATON MEDIA AT CMJ 2015: PINEY GIR, LELAND SUNDRIES

Wednesday - 1:20pm – Leland Sundries - Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 1 – Baby Robot Media / Dangerbird Party (acoustic set)

Leland Sundries – This Brooklyn band (which I happen to lead) is putting the finishing touches on its debut full-length, combining Americana, indie rock, and garage rock sounds.

"Scrappy" - The New York Times

“Excellent.” -The iTunes StoreFlavorpill CMJ preview: http://flavorpill.com/nyc/article/partner-post/listen-cmj-tracks-from-leland-sundries

Saturday – 2:45pm – Piney Gir – Leftfield – Baby Robot Media / American Diamond Recordings / Nick Loss-Eaton Media Party: https://www.facebook.com/#/profile.php?id=394383504089693&ref=br_tf

UK by way of Kansas indie pop artist Piney Gir will release a new Halloween EP followed by a January full-length album. NPR Weekend Edition profiled her in 2012: http://www.npr.org/2012/11/24/165674676/piney-gir-from-the-muppets-to-geronimo

Praise for 2012 album ‘Geronimo’:

"Pop gems." – Philadelphia Inquirer

"Piney Gir performs a brand of upbeat indie-pop sure to delight fans of the Vivian Girls and Best Coast." – Pop Matters

"A bit Shangri-Las, a bit Vivian Girls, and a bit Jenny Lewis." – Blurt Magazine

Saturday – 5:45pm – Leland Sundries – Leftfield – Baby Robot Media / American Diamond Recordings / Nick Loss-Eaton Media Party (electric set): https://www.facebook.com/#/profile.php?id=394383504089693&ref=br_tf

Saturday – 10pm – Leland Sundries – Hank’s Saloon – Pick Up the Change: Alt-Country Showcase (electric set)

OUT LAST WEEK, SPIN, USA, RELIX HAIL 'FESTIVUS 2,' HEARTWARMING INDIE POP CHRISTMAS MUSIC COMP

Out last week, Highline Records' indie pop Christmas music compilation 'Festivus 2' saw track debuts this week at SPIN and USA Today and a full album stream at Relix. SPIN debuted LIlys' psychedelic verstion of "Good King Wenceslas."

Western Lows' dream pop rendition of "Silent Night" premiered at USA Today.

Relix is streaming the entire release.

Here's a music video for "The Coldest Night" by Left With Pictures, assembled from mid-century footage, also brand new last week.

1. Silent Night - Western Lows
2. I Wish You A Merry Christmas - Ulysses
3. In The Bleak Midwinter - Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou
4. Ho Ho Hos Before Hos - Red Pony Clock
5. One Christmas Wish - The Priscillas
6. It's Christmas - Piney Gir
7. Don't Freat Out On Me - Mi Mye
8. Good King Winceslas - Lilys
9. The Coldest Night - Left With Pictures
10. Baby Jesus Was The First Glam Rocker - Glam Chops
11. Silver Bells Sing Their Chime - Francis Macdonald and Anna Sheard
12. Christmas at the Foodbank - Dodgy
13. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlmen - Dennis Hopper Choppers
14. Thank God It's Christmas - Darling BOY
15. My Heart Is As Pure As The Snow - Antony Elvin
16. Three Kings - Alexander's Festival Hall

IT'S AN INDIE POP CHRISTMAS!

HIGHLINE RECORDS' 'FESTIVUS 2' COMPILATION, OUT NOVEMBER 26, TO FEATURE THE LILYS, WESTERN LOWS, GLAM CHOPS (EDDIE ARGOS), FRANCIS MCDONALD (OF TEENAGE FANCLUB), NPR FAVORITE PINEY GIR, AND LA DREAM-POP BREAKOUTS WESTERN LOWS

Indie pop Christmas compilation 'Festivus 2' will be release November 26 on Highline Records, featuring The Lilys, Glam Chops, Piney Gir, Western Lows, and members of Teenage Fanclub and Art Brut.

Paste and Philadelphia Inquirer' both featured "standout tracks" (Paste) from last year's 'Festivus' on its Christmas 2012 playlists. NME praised the "jingly-jangly label showcase" and Q said, "Highline is similarly opposed to breadhead solstice-mongering, and offer up 15 skiffly, lovelorn tunes with a Brian Wilson aesthetic adorned with both kinds of jangling (guitars and jingle bells)." Oklahoma Gazette said, "Give it to your favorite hipster."

'Festivus 2' may be the rare sequel that's better than the original. The album kicks off with the moody synth-pop version of "Silent Night" submitted by LA dream poppers Western Lows, who have been championed by Bob Harris and The Guardian ("a particularly enervated form of shoegaze"). Other highlights are Glam Chops (featuring Eddie Argos of Art Brut) with "Baby Jesus Was the First Glam Rocker" (with a wicked David Bowie impression); The Priscillas driving power-pop "One Christmas Wish"; Ulysses' overdriven-with-harmonies "I Wish You a Merry Christmas"; and Francis Macdonald (of Teenage Fanclub) with Anna Sheard "Silver Bells Sing Their Chime." Washington, D.C. indie rockers The Lilys' version of "Good King Wenceslas" delivers a rare slice of guitar-bending psychedelic delight from the indie veterans. The subject of two NPR segments in the past year, Kansan-via-London's Piney Gir serves reverb-soaked psych-pop.

'Festivus 2' is an eclectic mix of great holiday music from UK and US artists alike. 

'Festivus 2' Track Listing

1. Silent Night - Western Lows  

2. I Wish You A Merry Christmas - Ulysses  

3. In The Bleak Midwinter - Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou  

4. Ho Ho Hos Before Hos - Red Pony Clock  

5. One Christmas Wish - The Priscillas  

6. It's Christmas - Piney Gir  

7. Don't Freat Out On Me - Mi Mye  

8. Good King Winceslas - Lilys  

9. The Coldest Night - Left With Pictures  

10. Baby Jesus Was The First Glam Rocker - Glam Chops 

11. Silver Bells Sing Their Chime - Francis Macdonald and Anna Sheard 

12. Christmas at the Foodbank - Dodgy 

13. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlmen - Dennis Hopper Choppers  

14. Thank God It's Christmas - Darling BOY  

15. My Heart Is As Pure As The Snow - Antony Elvin  

16. Three Kings - Alexander's Festival Hall

Piney Gir "Every Day's a Holiday" music video

From 'Festivus' (Highline Records):

NPR PROFILES PINEY GIR "FROM THE MUPPETS TO 'GERONIMO!'" AS SHE EARNS RAVES, COMPARISONS TO THE VIVIAN GIRLS, THE SHANGRI-LAS, THE TROGGS, AND BEST COAST

NEW EMBEDDABLE MUSIC VIDEO FOR "OUTTA SIGHT" POSTED

NPR Weekend Edition recently profiled indie pop starlet Piney Gir. She talks about keeping the songs short and sweet in "perfectly formed bursts of pop music" (her words), recording live as a band in one room,  growing up in a fundamentalist Pentecostal household with "happy clappy Jesus music" (also her words), how the muppets introduced her to pop music, recording with Tom Benelick who played on 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,' her part Native American ancestry, and recording in Los Angeles with producer Rob Campanella of the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Scott Simon says, "Her sound has been compared to Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline, but on her latest album, Geronimo, Gir sometimes seems to be conjuring up '60s pop from girl groups to The Troggs."

Here's a brand-new video of the song "Outta Sight," featuring sock puppets playing a dating gameshow.

More recent praise for 'Geronimo!,' out now on Highline Records:

"Sun-faded retro pop [and] all out go go boots… if Piney Gir's buzzing electric guitars and relentlessly charming vocals were enough to brighten up the UK, we gotta think they'll be enough to make us Americans cheery." – Baeble Music

"Unabashedly catchy." - Hitfix

"Pop gems." – Philadelphia Inquirer

"Piney Gir performs a brand of upbeat indie-pop sure to delight fans of the Vivian Girls and Best Coast." – Pop Matters

"A bit Shangri-Las, a bit Vivian Girls, and a bit Jenny Lewis." – Blurt Magazine

'FESTIVUS': AN INDIE POP CHRISTMAS FEATURING EDDIE ARGOS (OF ART BRUT), PINEY GIR, CORREATOWN, AND MORE, OUT NOW ON HIGHLINE RECORDS

Highline Records is presenting its first Christmas album 'Festivus,' a newly recorded, 15-track indie pop collection featuring Glam Chops (with Eddie Argos, also of Art Brut), Piney Gir (who was recently featured on NPR's Weekend Edition), Correatown (one of SPIN's "next big things"), the "beautiful" (Time Out) Real Tuesday Weld, and others.

The compilation skips between new wave (The Birthday Kiss, Piney Gir), Phil Spector-inspired pop (Hunks and Friends), synth-pop (Baubles), glam rock (Glam Chops), garage (The Werewandas), and 80s-inspired pop (St. Veit). Handclaps, harmonies, bells, and synths abound to warm up listeners during the holiday season.

'Festivus' Track List

1.      Christmas Time is Here - Correatown
2.      Just Because It's Christmas - Skiffle and the Piffles
3.      Every Day's a Holiday - Piney Gir
4.      Countdown to Christmas - Glam Chops
5.      The New Going Out - The Baubles
6.      Dearest Santa - Alphabet Backwards
7.      Song of December - The Real Tuesday Weld
8.      Everywhere at Once - Monnone Alone
9.      St. Veit - Still Flyin'
10.     Sentimental Christmastime - The Birthday Kiss
11.     Santa Claus is Not a Number - The Little Kicks
12.     Christmas Day (Time to Let You Go) - Russell (El Disastre)
13.     I Love You Santa Claus - The Werewandas
14.     The Magic of Christmas - Hunks & Friends
15.     Present and Correct - Alexander's Festival Hall

HIGHLINE RECORDS proudly presents FESTIVUS Released November 16th

Christmas time may well be imminent, and the goose might verily be getting on the girthy side, but something has been missing from our hallowed winter festival the past few years: the worth-its-weight-in-solid-gold-vinyl Christmas Record.

London's fastest-rising indie label Highline Records is here to fill this festive chasm, with a whole compilation jam-packed with bona fide original Christmas classics-in-waiting, featuring a host of luminaries including Piney Gir, Art Brut's Eddie Argos, and The Real Tuesday Weld.

Says label head Heather Willensky, "I've been obsessed by Phil Spector's Christmas album since I was a youngster and thought it would be great to bring everyone in our Highline circle together to create something festive."

Kicking off with LA-based chanteuse Correatown's gentle, woozily joyous 'Christmas Time Is Here,' the album segues into an accordion-laced romp courtesy of the fantastically-monikered Skipple and the Pipples before settling on the ever-brilliant Piney Gir's 'Every Day's A Holiday', containing surely the finest Christmas riff since Slade gave Crimbo a firm glam boot up the derriere way back when.

Speaking of glam, Art Brut's rakish lynchpin Eddie Argos also makes an appearance on Festivus, as part of the stomping Glam Chops, whose mischievous offering conjures up images of a half-naked Santa dancing on his Lapland HQ desk, clutching a bottle of Harvey's Bristol Cream and singing raucously to The Sweet.

Jangling sleigh bells herald The Real Tuesday Weld's languid, jazzy 'Song Of December', while Hunks & Friends' 'The Magic Of Christmas' opens with the immortal whispered lines:

"Daddy, what's this?"

"It's a Christmas song!"

"But it sounds just like every other Christmas song…"

"That's the magic of Christmas!"

The Christmas magic of this compilation, of course, is that each song has very much its own character –and a most endearing one at that. FESTIVUS is not only here to bring back the lost art of the Christmas record, but also to take it to new levels of artistic merit and listener enjoyment.

FESTIVUS has been brought to you by Highline Records and Father Christmas, because you've been very good this year.

INDIE POP EXPAT PINEY GIR RETURNS TO STATES TO RAVES FOR 'GERONIMO!,' TAPES NPR & DAYTROTTER, PLAYS CMJ

Piney Gir came back to her native US from her home in the UK and has been busy, playing CMJ, taping a Daytrotter session, and taping an interview with NPR Weekend Edition, which will air in November. She's also wrapping up a national tour with three west coast dates:

November 1st - The Bootleg, LA

November 2nd - The Make Out Room, San Francisco, with Red Pony Clock

November 3^rd - LA's Original Farmer's Market, LA

Baeble Music recently praised 'Geronimo's' "sun-faded retro pop [and] all out go go boots affair," continuing, "After all, if Piney Gir's buzzing electric guitars and relentlessly charming vocals were enough to brighten up the UK, we gotta think they'll be enough to make us Americans cheery."

Here's a bit of what we've read in response to her album 'Geronimo!,' out last week in the States on Highline Records.

"Pop gems." – Philadelphia Inquirer

"Her album sounds a bit Shangri-Las, a bit Vivian Girls, and a bit Jenny Lewis." – Blurt Magazine

"Sounds like Rilo Kiley." – Spinner

"I like this." - DA Wallach (Spotify), DA's Wild Ride Tumblr

UK reviews:

"Sweet 60's pop from Kansas Chameleon" – UNCUT, ****

"Undeniably charming" - The Sun

"A delight" - The Guardian