A few months back, someone (or several someones) posted to Facebook about a British singer named Harriet, who’d just released a new album. I remember that the post(s) came on a busy work day, so clicks weren’t made and, as is often the case, the post(s) descended on my timeline never to be seen again; and the mental note I made to check her out went the way of many mental notes.
Information overload is par for the course these days, after all.
Anyway, fast forward to this morning, when I pulled up Rumer, backed by Lissie & the Pierces, singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” on YouTube –
It’s a beautiful, touching performance of a beautiful, touching song. And there, on the right hand “Up Next” list of videos picked by YouTube’s algorithms, was a song by Harriet: “Maybe This Christmas.”
Now, as I write, it’s a little past one p.m., Eastern time, on Christmas day. I’m in no rush. Diane and I exchanged gifts (10,000 Maniacs’ Our Time in Eden on vinyl for me!) last night, and we have nowhere to be until later this afternoon. I planned to use this time to start work on a Top 5 culled from a 1974 Rolling Stone…but those plans went out the window once I heard Harriet’s voice. Here’s another taste – the lead single from her self-titled debut album:
What I’ve learned over the past few hours: Everyone and their brother, including Rumer (and, now, me), have compared Harriet’s vocals to Karen Carpenter’s; and that I really like her music. Perhaps that’s because, as she says in this interview, it’s rooted in the ‘70s:
So, without further adieu, here’s today’s Top 5: Harriet – two additional tracks from her album, plus a few smart covers.
1) “What’s Mine Is Yours.”
2) “Afterglow.”
3) “Last Christmas/I Can’t Smile Without You.”
4) “Every Breath You Take.”
5) “I’m Not in Love.”
The Old Grey Cat 
2 thoughts