The Christmas album, once among pop's least enticing concepts, has undergone a rebirth in recent years, with Glasvegas, Low and Sufjan Stevens all contributing festive LPs. Tracey Thorn's fourth solo set, though, is the best of the bunch, its sparse songs home to a seasonal standard, choice covers of Dolly Parton, White Stripes and Randy Newman songs and, in Joy and the title track, two fabulous self-penned tunes. Not every song is strictly Christmassy, but Thorn's duet with Green Gartside, Taking Down the Tree, captures the emotions particular to the season and stands comparison with anything she's done.