Aidan Moffat and RM Hubbert - Ghost Stories for Christmas (Rock Action)

Aidan Moffat and RM Hubbert channel Charles Dickens and MR James in an unheimlich album to be played under the plastic mistletoe

Our traditions matter to us, especially at Christmas; anxieties particular to this time of the year descend on us as we agonise over buying enough, giving enough, eating and drinking enough, and altogether having enough of well, the whole season. We invite the family round, cook an enormous bird, drink too much and wade into a pool of maudlin sentiment so deep that we can’t get out of it until after the New Year.

It doesn’t have to be all misery under the fairy lights though. We can get together with friends, have a drink, toast the season with old songs and a few good stories. On Ghost Stories for Christmas, RM Hubbert and Aidan Moffat have made an album that does all of that, blending together everything we feel about the season: the magic of the festive period alongside the melancholy, the joy of companionship and its dark underbelly. Along the way, they have managed to add in some dark, and rather terrifying stories, and moments of fun and tenderness, bringing us an album that really encapsulates a whole host of traditions associated with the season. Ghost stories have long been an integral part of Christmas, from Dickens’ original “Ghost Story for Christmas” to MR James’s festive hauntings, it seems that we enjoy a good scare at this time of the year. Hubbert and Moffat are pleased to oblige with ten tracks that feature a variety of spectres and apparitions.

Ghost Stories for Christmas follows on from the first full-length collaboration of Hubbert and Moffat, Here Lies the Body, which was released to much critical acclaim earlier in the year. Fans of the first album will be pleased to know that this release again delivers Moffat’s wide array of narratives, ranging from the melancholic and regret-tinged “Ode to Plastic Mistletoe” to the Brothers Grimm influenced fairy tale terror of “The Fir Tree”. All of this is guided, of course, by the glowing star of Hubbert’s melodic flamenco stylings. On tracks such as “Fireside” and “The Recurrence of Dickens”, Hubbert, aided by Jenny Reeve’s violin, demonstrates an ability to conjure a genuine warmth, pulling us closer to the fire, and allowing us to embrace these stories as we settle in for the evening. As if that wasn’t enough of a gift for you, Hubbert’s beautiful tunes are further assisted by guests Emma Pollock and John Burgess.

Along with eight original songs, all of which are ghost stories in their own way, the album also features two covers, including a version of “Lonely this Christmas”, rendered so mournful and full of regret by Hubbert’s piano dirge that Mud’s original seems cheery and bright. It is an appropriate choice, summing up the album well, according to Hubbert. The other cover is Yazoo’s “Only You”, a Christmas number one for the Flying Pickets in 1983, which has become something of a fan favourite at recent live shows. It also manages to fit in perfectly with the album, being both tender and warm, yet tinged with just enough sadness to suit the overall tone.

In assembling Ghost Stories for Christmas, Hubbert and Moffat have managed to compose an album that is like Christmas itself: both happy and sad, filled with nostalgia for the ghosts of past Christmases while also giving us a sense of revelling in all the madness, sleigh bells, fake decorations and cheesy pop songs. In getting together their friends to share some songs and stories that make us laugh, cry and feel a little bit frightened, Hubbert and Moffat are really asking us this question: what is that day at the end of December really about, is it a filled glass and a warming fireside, or is it loneliness and plastic mistletoe? Well the only way to find out is to pour yourself that drink, get a little closer to the fire and let our duo take you on a journey through all the feelings of the season.

hereliesthebody.com/xmas