Dean and Britta - He's Coming Home

(Chimney Rocks!, 2007)

A pair of Christmas covers from Dean Wareham, Britta Phillips, and Sonic Boom. Meaning: Galaxie 500, Jem, and Spacemen 3 collaborating on a holiday disc?! Yep! And, in a shock to your late-’80s sensibilities, it’s a rootin’-tootin’ family-time success, no joke. These are both some comfortably warm, gather-round-the-hearth marshmallows spiked with enough sleepy psych to avoid all saccharine sap. “He’s Coming Home,” sung by Britta, is a jaunty yet wistful seasonal love song whose reverb-heavy, Wilson-esque production gives it a richness that doesn’t take away from its pleasant breeziness. Future D&B songs should pay mind: a delicate sleepy/interesting balance is successfully struck on this one, and that’s something well worth replicating. I seem to remember “Old Toy Trains” appearing as a limited download several years ago, but it makes its first physical appearance here, and thank whatever for THAT. Wareham croons wonderfully, and Sonic Boom’s familiar sustained keyboard chords crackle throughout. Fantastic! This single is limited to 500, so fuzzhead sentamentalists the world over oughta buy it up now or cry about it on eBay later. Consider that your warning, goof.