HO HO WHO: As the days get shorter (at least for a few more days until the winter solstice next week) Charm City’s favorite shoegazing duo Beach House have released “I Do Not Care for the Winter Sun” as a free download on their website.

I’VE GOT A PROPOSITION FOR YOU: Though it’s been sunny today, The Sleigher concurs with Victoria Legrand‘s sentiments that winter is better spent in darkness. No amount of shiny beams of light can make up for the fact that it’s barely above freezing and the fact that a full 24 hours after the first dusting of the year, The Sleigher’s street still hasn’t been plowed. All things considered, The Sleigher would rather build a fire and kneel beside its warm glow in a dark living room while listening to Beach House’s Teen Dream.

SHIIIIIIIIIIIIT: …which is basically what”I Do Not Care for the Winter Sun” sounds like, but with jingle bells added. Not that that’s a bad thing; Teen Dream was one of The Sleigher’s favorite albums of 2010 and their set at last summer’s Pitchfork Music Festival was one of The Sleigher’s happier moments on a crushingly hot Chicago weekend. Legrand’s organ is not quite as amplified as it was on Teen Dream tracks like “Norway” or “Lover of Mine,” but the organ, Legrand’s voice, and Alex Scally‘s guitar rise and fall together to create a gauzy, dreamy, seasonal lament.

CHEER FACTOR: 4/10. Beach House sounds as lovely as ever, but the topic reminds The Sleigher just how bleak the season can be.

LISTEN: Beach House – “I Do Not Care for the Winter Sun”