2010 wasn't the biggest year Idol Records has ever seen. The once-dominant local label responsible for past releases from area favorites such as the Old 97's, Centro-matic, Chomsky, [Daryl], The Crash That Took Me, Black Tie Dynasty, PPT, The O's and others released only four albums this year -- records from The Slack, Trey Johnson, Charming Gardeners and Chris Holt.
But 2010 isn't officially over yet -- and, as such, the label's got some news to share, both about its plans for the end of 2010 and the beginning of what should prove to be quite the fruitful 2011.
For starters, the label, always a hub for local Christmas music greatness, has a new Christmas tune to pimp out, courtesy of Chris Holt. The song, called "What I Always Wanted," is a somewhat downtrodden, almost bitter affair in which Holt, capably backed by his labelmates in the Charming Gardeners, tells his listeners that they're all he's ever wanted for Christmas. It's available for purchase on iTunes, as is the label's last-year-released, more incendiary affair from Here Holy Spain, "God Damn This Christmas," both of which would make for fine additions to the label's still-killer Christmas 2000 release, Electric Ornaments (yes, it's been 10 years), which is available these days for the low cost of $6.99, not too shabby.
Of course, these are mostly just ornamental offerings. 2011, on the other hand, will find the label releasing the second full-length from local folk-rock favorites The O's, called Between The Two.
The first single from the disc, "We'll Go Walkin," produced by Stuart Sikes, is also currently
available on iTunes and will be released on February 8, 2010, right
before the duo heads off to tour Europe once more.
The album's release, you might recall, is a somewhat joint effort with Bucks Burnett's Cloud 8 label, which specializes in eight-track releases. It will be the first release on Cloud 8.
