When Sixpence None the Richer’s breakup proved temporary in 2004, it seemed only natural that a holiday album would provide the inevitable impetus to bring them back together. Though the band has been back together for at least a year, The Dawn of Grace is confirmation of the band’s spiritual solidarity, a religious thread that’s been woven into their music since the beginning. Singer Leigh Nash is still the group’s most identifying element, her waif-like vocals imbuing the sweetness in their sound and an angelic presence that’s an apt ingredient when it comes to heralding in the holidays. Here the band sample from both the spiritual and the secular, mixing in the obvious (“Silent Night,” yet another read of Joni Mitchell’s “The River,” now a seasonal standard) with a few pop pieces that tie into the holiday joy (the tropically sway of “Christmas Island,” a gentle and caressing “Christmas for Two”) and pull it all off with equal aplomb. The group’s willowy sound doesn’t infuse any deeper meaning that isn’t gleaned already from the inclusion of the more reverent selections, but as a pleasant aside, The Dawn of Grace is a lovely, if low-cast, bit of seasonal solace. (La Face)
