How Christmas should sound
I know, I know. You hold fond memories dear of Bing Crosby
crooning or even Amy Grant and Steven Curtis Chapman singing the old familiar
standards. And there’s certainly a market for that, seeing as how every
decently known artist has a tendency to eventually unfold a holiday-tinged
release. But you have to admit, they all start to run together. Right?
Leave it to Leigh Nash and Matt Slocum to completely unveil
what’s sure to be the standard for any forthcoming collection of Christmas
tunes in the near future. The Dawn of Grace
is hardly another ho-hum entry, but rather the most beautifully wrapped gift
underneath the sonic tree.
Advertisement
Only two new tracks are present here, although that’s a bit
deceiving since some of these are completely foreign to most. As for the well-known, they, too, are infused with a creative energy missing from other
compilations. “Angels We Have Heard on High” comes alive under Nash’s beautiful
vocal, while “O Come, O Come” borders on triumphant.
Jars of Clay’s Dan Haseltine guests on “Silent Night,” and
the tit-for-tat vocal arrangement works in spades. As for the new tracks, “The
Last Christmas” is pitch-perfect for Nash’s layered vocals and Slocum’s wintry
strum on a simple acoustic arrangement.
The Dawn of Grace
stands as an ideal example of the talent of Sixpence None the Richer. Whether
they’re dealing with original material or remakes from every other disc, the
output is remarkable all the same. –Matt Conner