Bringing to mind German folk-rock bands such as Faun with a hint of a punk rock sound and classical German music influences such as Hildegard Von Bingen and Igor Stravinsky, “Santa’s Bat” is less than 2-minute long, the perfect antidote for the sugary, over-cheerful Christmas atmosphere. To counteract the Hallmark-y aspect of mainstream pop Christmas songs from Ariana Grande and the Michael Bublé covers, “Santa’s Bat” is a song about the true spirit of forgiveness and beginning again during the holy times. Mixing German Christmas carols with a song about longing and desperation during the holidays brings to mind how indie-pop artist Sebastian Voss is already a mashup of diverse artistic influences, from his childhood pop tunes to his teenage punk rock phase. Sebastian contacted Lars Schmidt from Düsseldorf’s indie-pop legends Subterfuge and his involvement in the project gave it a bit of flair and heightened the overall meaning of “Santa’s Bat”.
The Fisherman and His Soul want to pick a difficult subject; bats are no nightingales, they are social outcasts, marred by hatred of humans, and have very sharp senses. Their inclusion in the song’s narrative makes the modern Christmas carol, post-pandemic fitting, and heartbreaking.
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Jaylan Salah