Moon & Back Music

The idea that there’s a one true ‘album of the year’ is a pretty misguided one. With that in mind, we’ve tried to offer up a series of recommendations from both the Moon & Back Music staff, and from a few notable names from the world of music.
Today it’s the turn of, Scottish singer/songwriter (and occasional Moon & Back contributor), Dave Hughes.

This is almost, in my head, a companion peice to Christy Moore’s offering, but with it’s viewpoint centred in Scotland. Roscoe has finally cracked the recording process with his debut album. “Shortbread Tins and Tartan Hats” is one of my favourite recordings from this year for all it says and inspires.

4. Christy Moore - Folk Tale

I’m a folk singer at heart, and when I’m not trying to be Chris T-T (this article should have been entitled ‘In praise of Chris T-T’!), I’m trying to emulate Christy Moore. This has all the hallmarks of what makes Christy great, soft ballads of lost love, softer ballads of social hardships, upbeat shanties about erm, Honda mopeds, but above all it a heart. “On morcombe bay” is a fantastic peice of musical journalism about the cockle pickers who died a few years back on the bay, and most importantly about how there are still many more to die.

3. The Horrible Crowes - Elsie

This was a grower. At first I felt it was just a collection of Brian Fallon outtakes, but something about it made me keep returning until I could walk to work with its songs in my head in the absence of headphones. It’s an album that speaks for and to anyone who’s ever been a prick in any relationship.

2. Mischief Brew - The Stone Operation

Bruce Springsteen and Mischief Brew, that’s my top two acts in the world and so this album couldn’t fail to get in my top 5. If Chris T-T hadn’t released Disobedience this would be my number one. It’s brutal hard core punk in some places, circus tunes in others, but throughout it has the most honest songwriting you’ll find.

1. Chris T-T – Disobedience
This is an album of songs with the lyrics written by A.A. Milne but with the legend that is Chris T-T doing the music. It formed Chris’s Edinburgh fringe show this year, which I went along to. My mum used to read A.A Milne to us as kids and so to hear these live in a contemporary setting (they were written in the 1930′s) was personally hard hitting. None more so than in ‘Binker’. Chris has managed to capture this on CD and whenever I’ve been feeling down, I turn to this album to remind me that even though things have been worse in the past, the world’s still a magical place.