Holiday Magic, Cassandra Kubinski (self-issued)

Up front, I'll concede this is a little too poppy for the site, but it does have some bite and rhythm, and Cassandra, a reality-show personality and jingle singer who also tours behind some acts you'd recognize, is a well-schooled pop singer who also contributes three originals among the six cuts on this 2017 EP. "Christmas Is All About" is a solid opener celebrating seasonal verities, "It Doesn't Feel Like December" has a modernized music-hall feel as it lightly complains about the grayness of the month, and "New Year Coming" is a melancholy year-end ballad. The covers include a version of "Little Drummer Boy" with support from what are probably her sisters, Matt Cusson duets on a lightly jazzy "Sleigh Ride," and "I'll Be Home For Christmas" gets medleyed with Paul Simon's "Homeward Bound" for a unique effect. Solid work; feel free to drop this in Mom's Christmas shopping playlist when she's not looking.