Ange Hardy
Album: When Cristmas Day Is Near
Label: Story Records
Tracks: 3
Website: http://www.angehardy.com

Last year it was The Little Christmas Tree, and this year Ange celebrates the season by releasing a charming, if unduly brief EP presenting a neat little seasonal sequence. Inevitably, it arrived way after the deadline for the winter issue of this mag - hence its inclusion here.

The EP, which lasts under six minutes in total, comprises just three tracks. The disc's bookends present Ange in a cappella mode: on the deceptively simple, deliciously charming earworm of a title song, a multitracked Ange sings of "the joy, hope and unity of Christmas, the promise of a new year to come and everything we love about the season" - all in a Santa's-whisker under two minutes! - while the thoughtful, resilient coda Solidarity was written the day after the Paris attacks at the Bataclan, "with heavy heart and hopeful soul" reflected in the wayward-seeming yet curiously logical melody that travels a long way in only just over half a minute.

The disc's altogether longer centrepiece William Frend is taken from Ange's most recent album Esteesee, and makes a fitting companion. And as is usual with Ange's releases, the design and artwork is immensely appealing; a minor treasure.

David Kidman