A Christmas offering from one of Australia’s great female voices Katie de Veau.
This time of year is perhaps the one time when the world turns up the volume on music that is steeped in faith and tradition, so, if you want some great new versions of old classics you can’t go wrong with this EP.
Katie has been putting out great albums for years now, but here we find her sublime vocals beautifully, delicately and tastefully accompanied by a handful of top shelf musicians. Christmas Carols like ‘O Come All ye faithful’ are served up with a harmonious blend of acoustic guitars that aren’t lost in the mix even when the full band kicks in.
Silent Night is given a ‘piano driven ballad’ treatment enhanced by some beautiful cello /string arrangements. Whilst Mary’s Boy child will be a perfect sing along track live with it’s groovy percussion kicking in on the chorus.
O Holy Night is perfectly handled with majestic pads floating behind the vocals and just so you don’t feel like you are buying ‘the same old’ Christmas music. A de Veau original, ‘Love came Down’ rounds up a great Yule Tide collection for playing as the family gather this year.
The real ‘Christmas Star’ here though is Katie’s voice. The producer has wisely allowed her vocal ability to sit in the drivers seat on each track, and even though the purity of the vocal is obvious, there is just enough gravel and rawness left in place to deliver a convincing heartfelt performance.
Only one gripe….ten songs would have been better.
Sammy Horner
Sweet Sorrows
http://www.thesweetsorrows.com/
Buy the album here and have it shipped to you or download from iiTunes store, Apple Music or Google Play.
