MLEE MARIE WANTS YOU TO HAVE A VERY SPECIAL HOLIDAYS AND SEE HER PLAY FIVE TIMES THIS WEEKEND

Friend of the Skyline and candidate for the Mike McBike Lifetime Achievement Sammie for Most Concurrent Band Memberships, Mlee Marie (ex-The[e] Freed), has plugged in the Christmas lights for yet another MySpace page showcasing both her cuckold-warming musical talent and near-crisis scheduling conflicts. Yes, as it turns out Mlee (Hearts of Animals) has, every year since 2002, put out a Christmas release much like Sufjan Stevens or nearly every pop band in Britain. Now this year, sadly, there won’t be any new recordings to share, but since most of us were no doubt not included on Mlee (Vaarg)’s naughty vs. nice lists in the past, getting the whole collection at once is akin to our having helped a lot of old ladies cross a lot of old streets all this old year long: You’ve been wicked nice and its time to reap the reward. You can get the entire Mlee Marie(Wols) Christmas recording catalog online here.

While we’re on the subject, Mlee (singing as Kim Deal with The Dimes at HOOTENANNY!) is taking it easy this weekend, playing only five different times. If you're a Beaumontian, you can catch Hearts of Animals on a bill that includes Indian Jewelry, Wicked Poseur and The Wiggins Friday night at The Vortex. Houstonians can (secretly) catch Mlee (Kidnaps) playing as herself during the Secret Show, Saturday afternoon at the Shady Tavern, or later than night during the last hurrah show for Wols (for which she, along with Will Adams are stepping in to back-up the soon-departing-for-Scotland Miss Amye). She’s also on that bill playing as herself (Mlee Marie) again. Sunday she’ll be playing as Hearts of Animals during the final night of Texas Gone Garage. Party call me.

RECORD RELEASE: LACED UP TIGHTLY

Yeah. We got this one out late, but surely more than a few of you are still trolling the internet looking for something to do tonight. Well happy lucky happy for you for, as it turns out, the record release party for Gretchen Schmaltz’s Laced Up Tightly ep is tonight at Mojo Rising. A copy of her debut, put out by the local Mia Kat Empire label, is included with your cover, as are performances by Mlee Marie and those guys who we said had “goofball synths” in one of their songs, label-mates The Nautical Mile.

Schmaltz’s folk leaves country-western out to sulk in the garage while she wanders around a big wooden Southern Gothic house, strumming and crooning while a band plays in the other room even as she stops to smirk at the occasional sunflower or rummage through a sad, departed relative’s steamer-trunk. So, if Clutch isn’t really your thing, maybe try this out instead.