Eddi Reader - Dragonflies

Maybe it’s the uplifting waltz-like jig, the jangling sleigh-bell percussion or the slow-melting vocals, but Eddi Reader’s new single is like a little slice of Christmas. She could be singing about anything and still we’d be conjuring images of mince pies and tinsel. As it goes, she’s singing about dragonflies, which likely alludes to the flitter-flutter of the human heart (cue lyrics steeped in metaphor: ‘how can something so fragile, leave us helpless’). The trademark Reader velvety interleaving of instruments and vocal is present and correct, and Dragonflies, whilst not being particularly mind-blowing, is a tender little ditty that’s caught us in a non-Scroogey mood and made us feel all warm inside. [Anna Docherty]