Josie - Christmas Is Over! (If You Want It)/Mr. Scrooge Josie

Taking cues from C86 and twee pop, Charlotte Fischer, Dawn Bruce and Martin Herskind came together to form the indie pop group Josie in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2023. The trio recorded their first demo the following year, after which Anton Rothstein joined them on drums. Anton had previously played in post-punk bands such as Marching Church, Lower, and Whistler. Josie cite Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, and the Shop Assistants, as well as the early rock 'n' roll of Buddy Holly and the jangle rock of R.E.M., as their main influences. In 2025, Josie released their debut single, "Still Time" on the London label Precious and their debut album A Life on Sweets Alone on the Olympia, Washington labels K and Perennial. Josie performed in the UK alongside the Scottish twee pop band The Cords, and also opened for the Japanese band Shonen Knife. Earlier this year, they released another 7" single on Precious: "Oh Boy!".

For the Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club, the band recorded the brilliantly titled original, "Christmas Is Over! (If You Want It)". The song sounds exactly as you would expect a Josie Christmas song to sound, with jangly guitars, "ba-ba-ba"s, melodic vocals, uptempo drumming, a few sleigh bells here and there and a slightly messy sound. The playful and funny lyrics will resonate with anyone who has a love-hate relationship with the festive season and who may not be entirely unwilling to succumb to the annual Christmas overdose that Charlotte sings about. With its infectious feel-good sound and an intro as classic as that of "Jingle Bell Rock", this song could well become an indie Christmas staple, much like John and Shaky's festive offerings are pop Christmas staples.

Josie has made a very original choice of cover song. In 1964, the English girl group The Orchids recorded the song "Mr Scrooge" for the film Just for You. The film featured various up-and-coming English bands inspired by the beat movement. The Orchids were the only all-female group in the film and on the soundtrack. In the film clip, the three girls play around with a sleigh and a snowman in a wintry landscape as snow falls. Like most of the group's songs, "Mr. Scrooge" is an upbeat pop song full of harmonies — the perfect choice for Josie. Josie sticks fairly closely to the original arrangement and adds 1980s indie pop sensibilities to create the perfect fusion of 1960s girl pop and 1980s indie pop. Listen to this catchy song once and it will be stuck in your head for the rest of the Christmas season!