{"id":16603,"date":"2015-12-18T09:48:45","date_gmt":"2015-12-18T09:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=16603"},"modified":"2015-12-18T09:48:45","modified_gmt":"2015-12-18T09:48:45","slug":"essential-advent-calendar-the-diamond-age-holly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2015\/12\/essential-advent-calendar-the-diamond-age-holly\/","title":{"rendered":"Essential Advent Calendar: The Diamond Age &#8211; &#8216;Holly&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"15957\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2015\/12\/essential-advent-calendar-the-diamond-age-holly\/advent-calendar-19\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-19.png?fit=1482%2C1182&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1482,1182\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"advent calendar 19\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-19.png?fit=640%2C510&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15957\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-19.png?resize=640%2C510&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"advent calendar 19\" width=\"640\" height=\"510\" \/><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>We&#8217;re up to Day 18 of the Essential Advent Calendar &#8211; only a week left to go! Today we feature &#8216;Holly&#8217;, the new single from The Diamond Age.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16605\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16605\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"16605\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2015\/12\/essential-advent-calendar-the-diamond-age-holly\/the-diamond-age-photo-credit-steve-bayley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/The-Diamond-Age-Photo-Credit-Steve-Bayley.jpg?fit=2048%2C1365&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2048,1365\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"The Diamond Age Photo Credit Steve Bayley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;The Diamond Age: Photo Credit Steve Bayley&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/The-Diamond-Age-Photo-Credit-Steve-Bayley.jpg?fit=640%2C427&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-16605\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/The-Diamond-Age-Photo-Credit-Steve-Bayley.jpg?resize=640%2C427&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"The Diamond Age: Photo Credit Steve Bayley\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16605\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Diamond Age: Photo Credit Steve Bayley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Not strictly a Christmas song, but seasonal nonetheless, this release from the Southampton duo is less dreampop and more ska, reminding us a lot of Ghost Town by The Specials. With an ethereal lead vocal and a pulsatingly rhythmic backing vocal, &#8216;Holly&#8217; is a very catchy, eminently ear-wormy dance tune, well worth listening to on repeat.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We caught up with The Diamond Age back in August: you can check out our interview <a href=\"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2015\/08\/the-diamond-age-talk\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">You can find The Diamond Age online on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thediamondageuk?fref=ts\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thediamondageuk\">Twitter<\/a>. You can also buy their EP, released in September, on their <a href=\"http:\/\/thediamondageuk.bigcartel.com\" target=\"_blank\">website<\/a>.\u00a0One half of the duo,\u00a0Matt Canning is a award winning\u00a0illustrator &#8211;\u00a0check out his work on his <a href=\"http:\/\/cargocollective.com\/herdsofbirds\" target=\"_blank\">website<\/a>. Boys By Girls Magazine also have a few of his illustrations for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.boysbygirls.co.uk\/index.php\/news\/shop-new-illustration-collection\" target=\"_blank\">sale<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"450\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F233666052&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;visual=true&#038;show_comments=true&#038;color=false&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re up to Day 18 of the Essential Advent Calendar \u2013 only a week left to go! Today we feature \u2018Holly\u2019, the new single from The Diamond Age.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3768],"tags":[3984,470,3938,3982,3983,77,622,2461,3787,2123],"class_list":["post-16603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christmas","tag-boys-by-girls","tag-christmas","tag-essential-advent-calendar","tag-holly","tag-illustrations","tag-new-release","tag-ska","tag-the-diamond-age","tag-the-essential-advent-calendar","tag-the-specials"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5yMhl-4jN","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16705,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2015\/12\/essential-advent-calendar-essential-advent-playlist\/","url_meta":{"origin":16603,"position":0},"title":"Essential Advent Calendar: Essential Advent Playlist","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"25\/12\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! Today we're doing a combined Advent Calendar and Essential Playlist to celebrate all the wonderful songs we've featured every day.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/archived-categories\/christmas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Merry-Christmas.png?fit=1200%2C954&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Merry-Christmas.png?fit=1200%2C954&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Merry-Christmas.png?fit=1200%2C954&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Merry-Christmas.png?fit=1200%2C954&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Merry-Christmas.png?fit=1200%2C954&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":72660,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2021\/12\/the-essential-advent-calendar-december-3-coming-to-cinemas-4th-5th-december-thecbeebies-christmas-show-the-night-before-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":16603,"position":1},"title":"The Essential Advent Calendar: December 3 &#8211; Coming To Cinemas 4th &#038; 5th December &#8211; TheCBeebies Christmas Show: &#8216;The Night Before Christmas!&#8217;","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"03\/12\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Modern Films Family is excited to share the brand new poster and trailer for this year\u2019s CBeebies Christmas Show 'The Night Before Christmas\u2019, available in cinemas on December 4th & 5th.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/archived-categories\/christmas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Essential Advent Calendar: December 3","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/E8C0677D-CE37-4A3C-9668-15BA5F5E67D0.jpeg?fit=623%2C494&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/E8C0677D-CE37-4A3C-9668-15BA5F5E67D0.jpeg?fit=623%2C494&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/E8C0677D-CE37-4A3C-9668-15BA5F5E67D0.jpeg?fit=623%2C494&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":79066,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2022\/12\/the-essential-advent-calendar-december-3-sam-smith-releases-christmas-song-night-before-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":16603,"position":2},"title":"The Essential Advent Calendar: December 3 &#8211; Sam Smith Releases Christmas Song &#8216;Night Before Christmas&#8217;","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"03\/12\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"December 3 sees the opening of the third door on The Essential Advent Calendar with Sam Smith's new Christmas single, a beautiful festive love ballad,\u00a0'Night Before Christmas'.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/archived-categories\/christmas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-3.png?fit=1200%2C951&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-3.png?fit=1200%2C951&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-3.png?fit=1200%2C951&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-3.png?fit=1200%2C951&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-3.png?fit=1200%2C951&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16373,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2015\/12\/essential-advent-calendar-red-sky-july-save-christmas-day-for-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":16603,"position":3},"title":"Essential Advent Calendar: Red Sky July &#8211; &#8216;Save Christmas Day For Me&#8217;","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"08\/12\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Award-winning Americana trio Red Sky July are releasing an atmospheric, beautifully orchestrated single for Christmas featuring Beth Nielsen Chapman.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/archived-categories\/christmas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Red-Sky-July-1.jpg?fit=1198%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Red-Sky-July-1.jpg?fit=1198%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Red-Sky-July-1.jpg?fit=1198%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Red-Sky-July-1.jpg?fit=1198%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Red-Sky-July-1.jpg?fit=1198%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":72900,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2021\/12\/the-essential-advent-calendar-december-25-time-for-something-new-sarah-reeves-releases-more-the-merrier-this-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":16603,"position":4},"title":"The Essential Advent Calendar: December 25 &#8211; Time For Something New: Sarah Reeves Releases &#8216;More The Merrier&#8217; This Christmas","author":"Polly Havelock","date":"25\/12\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you bored of all the chart-topping old Christmas music? Are you looking for something new for a change? We've got you. Nashville-based pop sensation Sarah Reeves releases her second Christmas EP titled 'More The Merrier.'\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/archived-categories\/christmas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Essential Advent Calendar: December 25","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-25.png?fit=1200%2C957&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-25.png?fit=1200%2C957&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-25.png?fit=1200%2C957&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-25.png?fit=1200%2C957&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-25.png?fit=1200%2C957&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17391,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2016\/01\/the-essential-weekly-playlist-of-the-diamond-age\/","url_meta":{"origin":16603,"position":5},"title":"The Essential Weekly Playlist of: The Diamond Age","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"22\/01\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"We last featured The Diamond Age in our Essential Advent Calendar, with their song 'Holly'. They're currently working on new material, but in the meantime, here's their Essential Weekly Playlist.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/The-Diamond-Age2.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/The-Diamond-Age2.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/The-Diamond-Age2.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/The-Diamond-Age2.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/The-Diamond-Age-Photo-Credit-Steve-Bayley.jpg?fit=2048%2C1365&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16603\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}