Crookes, ‘It’s Just Not Christmas Without You’ – Exclusive Stream

With the exception of Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You,' all of the best holiday songs are at least moderately depressing.

From 'I'll Be Home for Christmas' to 'Fairytale of New York' -- the only seasonal favorite to include the words "old slut on junk" -- there's a long tradition of weepy Xmas jams, and U.K. rockers the Crookes have given us a brand-new one, 'It's Just Not Christmas Without You.'

A crowd favorite at the Sheffield foursome's live shows, the heart-wrenching tune will be available for purchase tomorrow (Dec. 6) via Bandcamp. It's well worth picking up, but in the meantime, you can stream it right here.

"My heart is cold under these lights," sings frontman George White. "God knows it's just not Christmas without you." It's frigid outside, and he's missing his lady, and in an interesting twist on the usual homesick-rocker song, he's the one imploring her to "come home." His bandmates up the drama with piano and sleigh bells (of course), creating the perfect song for those of us lone-wolfing it this holiday season.

Whether the Crookes follow this with a New Year's Eve single, 2014 promises to be a good year for the group, as their third album -- the follow-up to 2012's excellent 'Hold Fast' -- is due out this spring on Modern Outsider.