Artist: Christie McCarthy
Album Title: Winter
Genre/Style: Rockabilly
Release Year: 2005
Christie McCarthy’s voice is a little off-putting — it’s in that uncomfortable range where you can’t quite tell if the singer is male or female — but once that confusion is out of the way, it’s easy to enjoy Winter, a collection of familiar, mostly secular Christmas carols (“Silent Night” being the lone sacred hymn).
The production is professional and restrained, although I’m not completely sure how to categorize the style — it’s sort of like jazz, but there’s a prominent electric guitar on all of the numbers. In any case, despite its rock and roll elements, the album is very laid back. I’d probably describe it as soporific if McCarthy had a more conventional voice. But it works, even on sprightly tunes like “Mistletoe and Holly”, which might be the only song on the album that hasn’t been done to death by everyone else.
Rating: 
The songs may be familiar, but they sound a little different when McCarthy sings them.
