The Pogues‘ “Fairytale of New York” is now a Christmas classic. It has gone platinum many times in the UK, has featured in the UK Top 20 something like 20 times, presumably at Christmas, and it has won some polls as the UK’s favourite Christmas song. Though less commercially successful in the US, the song has still permeated enough that it has become a perennial favorite without charting.
En Attendant Ana (“Waiting for Ana” in English) are a French indie pop band who have put out three albums since 2018. They have a new Christmas single where they cover “Fairytale” and a medley of obscure Christmas songs by ’60s sunshine pop group The Free Design. Despite their twee pop-ish sound, their take on “Fairytale of New York” is pretty controversial.
“Fairytale of New York” is, famously, a duet. One of the reasons it is so popular is the back-and-forth between the woman and the man. En Attendant Ana have decided the song doesn’t need to be a duet. That’s likely to alienate more than a few listeners but don’t give up because their version is out there.
Lead singer Margaux Bouchaudon sings the opening over a dense soundscape of looped instruments. When the song breaks out – i.e. when Kirsty MacColl first comes in during the orignial – Bouchaudon ups her tempo but the sound behind her builds softly. Instead of the céilidh there are festive backing vocals which continue until the next chorus. The instrumentation drops out for the sixth verse and it’s almost A Cappella, before the band comes back in they go full Stereolab on us. Bouchardon then sings a snippet of Nat King Cole‘s “The Christmas Song” as the coda.
It’s definitely not for everybody. If you love “Fairytale of New York” and listen to it every year around this time, En Attendant Ana’s cover may be a bit much for you. But it’s a fun an inventive version of a Christmas classic.
