If you made the rounds of all the Christmas music sites, then you're likely ahead of me on this one. "Winter Stories" received plenty of well deserved praise on sites I only get around to on rare occasion (like My Festive Fizzy Pop). Only so many hours in the day, you know.
Harriet is a relatively new U.K. artist--apparently first getting notice and airplay in 2014. She closed that year with this original Christmas track, "Maybe This Christmas". In November 2015, she followed up with the full Christmas album, "Winter Stories".
The most common comparison you'll hear is Karen Carpenter. And, while its hard to imagine a voice as lovely as Karen's perfect alto, its impossible not to hear echoes of her in Harriet. Part of that is technique and part of it is style. You know, Christmas music is a tricky business. A great Christmas song needs to be both new and old. Some of the most successful Christmas music will harken back to an earlier time, stimulating the strong memories we carry, and yet steering too close to the classics can render a song little more than a novelty. You'll hear tons of artists trying to craft a Christmas song in a style that recalls Bing Crosby or Phil Spector. But the Carpenters sound was unique and so of its time (though also timeless) that I can't think of any Christmas efforts that even attempted to go there...let alone successfully.
Harriet's voice is in a slightly higher register than Karen's and Karen had an innate combination of strength and vulnerability that simply radiated from inside that made her a perfect Christmas music vessel. But "Maybe This Christmas" is very reminiscent of a Carpenter's composition in its construction. So much so that you can't help but wonder what might come of a Richard Carpenter and Harriet collaboration.
On the covers, you may hear echoes of Karen on "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and "Christmas Time Is Here", a little less so on the two George Michael Christmas songs ("Last Christmas" and "December Song") and "All I Want For Christmas Is You", and not at all on "Silent Night". The tricky thing is going to be putting away the comparisons and appreciating Harriet for herself. But, if you've longed for more Christmas music of the kind the Carpenters gave the world, I highly recommend Harriet's "Winter Stories".
Now the bad news. Hard copy Harriet CDs are exclusively sold through her website, are pressed in limited numbers, and are entirely sold out. As a hard copy collector myself, that's a bummer of great magnitude. Especially as there's one track that was only included on the CD. So you'll just have to hope Harriet becomes popular enough that her CDs will be re-issued while keeping an eye on the eBay (but be prepared to wade through pages of "Harriet Tubman" and Harriet The Spy soundtracks). Dropping a letter to Santa probably wouldn't hurt, either. But don't deny yourself the music that you can purchase in digital format. "Winter Dreams" (digital) is available at both Amazon and iTunes. And keep an eye on Facebook and Soundcloud for current and upcoming releases from Harriet.