Martin Sexton: Camp Holiday

Singer-songwriter Martin Sexton has the perfect voice for Christmas carols. His is an elastic instrument, equally at home in soulful, spiritual mode or channeling some old Dixieland medicine-show huckster. His album Camp Holiday runs through a set of pop-traditionalist Christmas classics like "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and "Little Drummer Boy," which Sexton and co-producer Crit Harmon present in minimalist arrangements rooted in acoustic guitar and light percussion. It would all be fairly pleasant and nondescript if not for Sexton's vocals: He croons "Silent Night" as though the sound of the words alone could comfort and calm the Christ child. Sexton's "Silent Night" also features guest vocals by his father, plus some additional lyrics that extend the song's image of peace to a more direct promise of hope. Sexton has described Camp Holiday as being like a December evening by the fireplace in a country cabin, and much of the album has just that kind of no-big-deal feel. But when his elegantly curved tones caress a Christmas ballad as winsome as "Do You Hear What I Hear", the effect is as profound as a midnight mass.