There was such an anticipatory buzz ahead of the release of David Kitt’s debut that it was almost palpable. Which of us hadn’t nodded along to ‘You Know What I Want To Know’, or admired the lyrical deftness of ‘Whispers Return The Sun, Rest The Moon’ at his live shows? And it was all done so tenderly, with the almost surreptitious application of soft, hypnotic beats underpinning Kitt’s brooding voice. This was a new deal altogether: technology had rarely been used to such rewarding effect in the service of love songs, and the sparseness of the production only heightened the appeal. Kittser was at his most poetic on the plaintive ‘Strange Light In The Evening’, ‘Song From Hope St (Brooklyn NY)’ and ‘What I Ask’.

No 22 in 2009, as voted for by over 200 Irish musicians. Up from No 31 in 2004.