More Christmas Songs EP, Jars of Clay (Gray Matters)

The long-popular Christian rockers have had previous EPs and a full album of Christmas songs, and for 2011 they turn loose another EP with an original ballad, "Almost Christmas," and two covers. The evergreen "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" shows a lighter touch, led with ukeleles, though the vocal approach and arrangement sound very much like U2's version of the Darlene Love/Phil Spector classic. And "Someday At Christmas" is a very nice version of Stevie Wonder's song, close to the writer's arrangement. The original song is a bit on the earnest side, but taken all together you've almost certainly done worse things with $3 than this.