Home Counties have shared a festive new single titled ‘Better Last Year (Home Counties For Christmas)’, and announced a fundraiser gig in London.

The new song arrives today (December 3), and was first given its live debut at the band’s triumphant headline show at Scala in London last night (December 2).

Produced by the band’s own Conor Kearney, the track sees Home Counties commit to sharing an official Christmas song of their own, and tackles the feeling of the holiday season gradually feeling more difficult with each passing year. In the track, they take inspiration from The Pogues’ classic ‘Fairytale Of New York’ and urge people to regain some of their childlike joy when it comes to this time of year.

“Inspired by the dual voices and anti-Christmas sentiments of ‘Fairytale’, the song is split between two narratives voiced by Will [Harrison] and Lois [Kelly],” the band said. “Lois sings about bumping into people you went to school with who have since done terrible things (a common theme from our school). Will sings specifically about Christmas Eve itself, with a feeling that with every year it gets a bit shitter, and everyone a bit less joyous.”

“Together, they shape a story of growing older and how you feel it at this time of year,” they added. “It’s also a plea for everyone to try and regain some of their lost ‘Christmas spirit’, in a slightly problematic boozy call to arms.”

The band also said that they wrote the song as they’ve “always gone hard on the Christmas songs” in the past, and previewed an “early iteration of the song a few days after writing it last Christmas”.

“I think some people (our parents) were a bit offended by it at first, with it slagging off our hometown, but it went down pretty well otherwise,” they quipped.

As well as sharing the new single, the band have also confirmed details of a special Christmas show that they will be hosting at The George Tavern in East London. Taking place on December 17, the show will see the band raising funds for Palestine.

They have also been confirmed as main support to Franz Ferdinand across the band’s UK tour dates next spring. Visit here for tickets to the George Tavern show, and here for tickets to Franz Ferdinand upcoming shows.

Earlier this year Home Counties shared their latest album ‘Humdrum’, which was produced by Al Doyle (LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip) and explored the unease of saying too much or not enough.

‘Better Last Year (Home Counties For Christmas)’ joins a growing list of new festive tracks that have dropped in recent weeks. Last month Kylie Minogue announced details of a 10th anniversary reissue of her ‘Kylie Christmas’ album with four brand new tracks, and Brian Eno, Celeste, Bastille‘s Dan Smith, Leigh-Anne and more made a bid for Christmas Number One with the charity single ‘Lullaby’.

McFly‘s Tom Fletcher has recorded a new festive track for the new Paddington Bear musical that is looking to get to the top of the charts too, and earlier this week Olly Murs teamed up with The Ordinary Boys to share a new festive single called ‘Christmas Starts Tonight’.