Your presents from Flavorpill come in mp3 form this year. That’s right — we have a heap of gift-wrapped new tracks to start your holiday off right, from Beach Fossils to Lil Wayne to Toro Y Moi. Right Click and Save As to get them one by one or scroll to the bottom of the post to download the whole mix. And for those of you looking to avoid another Bing Crosby Christmas, make sure you’ve got last week’s tape, our compilation of the year’s best new holiday tracks.
1. “Still Sound” by Toro Y Moi
The first taste from Toro Y Moi’s upcoming album Underneath the Pines proves that for most of 2010, Chaz Bundick was holed up listening to Ennio Morricone. “Still Sound” has all of the epic swoop of a film score, plus touches of 1970s disco.
2. “The Magic Place” by Julianna Barwick
Julianna Barwick makes ecstatic, layered vocal tracks that make you feel like you’re in a cathedral full of ghosts. “The Magic Place” is the title track from her upcoming debut, which should hit stores in February.
The Best of Gloucester County, Danielson’s upcoming album, has a somewhat misleading title–it’s not a compilation at all, but the Danielson reworked and pared down to its country-punk essence. At least, if their single “Grow Up” is any indication.
Lil Wayne is so prolific that it’s all too easy to overlook his latest offerings. But “6’7′” showcases the rapper at his finest, spinning rhymes off the top of his head over an unlikely hook. It’s perversely catchy, too. Welcome back, Mr. Carter.
Beach Fossils are busy readying their sophomore album for release in 2011, and “Calyer” showcases some of their work: the jangly, echoey guitar and hazy surf rock hooks we’ve come to love so well.
6. “Children of the Revolution” (T. Rex Cover) by Neon Indian
This weird, loping electronic cover of T. Rex’s classic just about convinced us that Neon Indian should release a covers album.
7. “Practically Immaculate” by Crystal Stilts
Somehow, when we were compiling our Holidaze edition of the mixtape, this gem from Crystal Stilts slipped through the cracks. Though their album is still on hold until next year, the shadowy Brooklyn rockers apply their sizzurp sound to a holiday tune — sort of.
The Men are not for the faint of eardrum. They’ve been a staple in Brooklyn loft shows for a few years, blasting away neighbors and peeling poorly applied paint with their post-punk rollicking. “Bataille” is a sample from their first album release, and it’s chock-a-block with joyful noise.
9. “Slow” by Twin Shadow (Van Rivers Remix)
A lovely track by Twin Shadow remixed by Fever Ray collaborator Van Rivers to give it a seriously dark vibe.
10. “Love and Leave” by Scattered Trees
Chicago sextet Scattered Trees are pop traditionalists. “Love and Leave” has the atmospheric touches of indie pop, but at its core, it’s the kind of track that would fit quite well in between Radiohead and The Cure on one of your high school mixtapes.