Wonders Of The Yukon hope the holidays last forever in their new single and video Christmas Not Ending — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Admittedly, it’s a bit of a jaunt (4,128 miles, to be exact) from Wakefield, England to Whitehorse, Yukon. But that didn’t stop the duo of Andy Campbell and Dave Langdale from naming their group Wonders Of The Yukon. Now, they offer up this superb seasonal single, a beautifully executed song that is rich in texture and deep in feeling.
When Wonders Of The Yukon correlate the vibe of Christmas Not Ending with the Bing Crosby standard White Christmas, there is a clear hint of mischief in the comparison. Christmas Not Ending is more a tale of melancholic hoping than aspirational dreaming; less an all-American ’40s family sitting around the fire on Christmas and more a present-day family sat disparately around the house spending the big day glued to their individual phones. There are parallels though. Crosby dreams. Campbell hopes. Maybe Campbell, like Crosby, is aching for that magic sparkle that a dusting of snow can bring. Or maybe both men just want the opportunity to enhance and extend that Christmas spirit and are willing loved ones not to leave.
But, as Wonders Of The Yukon humorously suggest, “most likely both men (Crosby and Campbell), watching at their windows, dreaming and hoping for the first sight of snow, are in reality praying for a blizzard of epic proportions so that they don’t have to endure the drudgery and dogshit monotony of returning to work on Jan. 2.”
Christmas Not Ending, a song they describe as “Christmas folk noir,” is a brilliant addition to the seasonal standards, bringing to mind the work of Badly Drawn Boy, Sparklehorse and Canadian artists such as Cowboy Junkies, Weakerthans and Daniel Lanois. Atop a deliberately gliding backbeat, Campbell’s vocals are soothing, with the economy of words only heightens the song and delayed harmonies that add richness to the proceedings. Acoustic guitar, electric guitar and Mellotron, all played by Campbell, give the single a world-weary but uplifting, hymnal-like feel. Christmas Not Ending is augmented by Langdale on bass and the Wonders Of The Yukon Gospel Choir adding closing accompaniment.
“It’s like a fever dream in which Michael Bublé is fronting Mercury Rev,” the band say. The single was written, recorded, produced, and mixed by Campbell and Langdale, then mastered by Steve Whitfield.
Wonders Of The Yukon describe themselves as “somewhere on the spectrum between Queens Of The Stone Age and The Everly Brothers.” Langdale was previously a member of Salako, who released two albums in the late ’90s on indie label Jeepster. Campbell was a musician and songwriter at Columbia Records and BMG Publishing. They have individually shared stages with Pavement, Bootsy Collins, Grandaddy and Sparklehorse, among others. Given Campbell’s day job as an addiction therapist, there’s a certain irony in the band’s claim that they formed when Campbell, trying to free himself of a serious addiction to guitar effects pedals, met Langdale as the latter was trying to “overcome the octave high of the pitch-shifter.” Having now been joined by ace guitarist and “custom effect pedals designer” Phil Greenwood seems like an example of cruel fate, satirical genius or simply a band not wanting to let the truth get in the way of a good story.
Watch the video for Christmas Not Ending above, hear the song and more from Wonders Of The Yukon below, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
