Christmas albums are usually the province of veteran artists wanting to make all warm and fuzzy, or pop stars eager to reap some end-of-the-year royalties, which makes the appearance of Mindy Smith's My Holiday a bit of a surprise. My Holiday is only the third album from the young singer/songwriter, and while she's established a loyal following, she's hardly topping the charts just yet. However, while most holiday albums sounds like they were tossed off without a much of an effort, My Holiday sounds like it has some real business being Smith's third album. Smith's original tunes on this set are sweetly heartfelt without getting sticky, and the child's eye images of "Santa Will Find You," the real world love song "I Know The Reason" and the simple but fervent faith expressed in "Come Around" and "Follow The Shepherd Home" are superb examples of Smith's very real gifts as a songwriter. Smith isn't afraid to put her stamp on the Christmas standards included on this set; she reworks the vocal melody to "Away in a Manger" with impressive results, there's a lovely sense of longing in her take on "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve," and she strips away the outer layers of sentimentality from "I'll Be Home for Christmas" without robbing it of its power. My Holiday is dominated by simple, tasteful (mostly) acoustic arrangements that dovetail nicely with Smith's rich whisper of a voice, and the result is an album that's every bit as compelling and well-crafted as her first two discs, and might even stay in your personal playlist after the holiday decorations make their inevitable return to the attic. - iTunes
