Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

The latest EP from singer/songwriter Heatherlyn finds the Colorado-based artist in a festive mood with three songs that take Christmas as their main focus. Referencing her personal past where money was of short supply and she and her mom had to make rather than buy presents, there is a fittingly contemplative quality about this humble offering with the opener "Winter Cardinal" balancing the harshness of the singer's childhood Decembers in Minnesota with the quiet hope of knowing that God will always provide in a way that showcases Heatherlyn's poetic writing style. A new version of the old civil war carol "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" continues in the same vein whilst the heartbreakingly sad "Warmth Of Your Eyes" tells of missing someone special at Christmastime to end proceedings with melancholy in a way that will have you wiping away a tear as you stuff the turkey. The set up for all three tracks is simply one voice and a solitary guitar and although the quality the songs and Heatherlyn's heartfelt vocal performance certainly deserve some additional instrumentation - some strings here and there would have been beautiful and beneficial - this basic demo-like approach does the job and fits in with the overriding theme of Christmas sparsity.

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