Thankfully there's a digital version online of the latest six-track release from Edinburgh's Geek Maggot Bingo, otherwise I'd have been unable to play it, having not owned a cassette player/tape deck/whatever for the past 20+ years. So much for technological advances, what does it sound like?

With each new release the band seem to channel more and more of the best bits of The Reverend Horton Heat (not in any way a bad thing). The title track here is a prime example of that as it pounds away for just over two minutes, Andy Maggot rawly vocalising all the way & bringing to mind the good Reverend.

'Hey Jackass' turns the pace down a notch but has the compensations of a harmonica & a guitar solo as the titular jackass is called out.

Third track 'I'll Still Be Here' is the triumphant soundtrack to one man's resilience against whatever the world has to throw against him & his firm belief in outlasting all who've ever wronged him.

The second half of the release continues on in the same vein as you'd expect (you'll need to shell out if you want to know how the songs go down though, no more spoon feeding). Of the band's releases to date I'll say this is the one which has had the biggest impact on me. Whether it's the production bringing out more of their sound, better quality writing or some other factor they've seemingly ascended to a new level with Box 36.

Box 36 can be purchased from bandcamp here.

It's been another great year, and it got off to an amazing start with The Senior Service's cracking debut single, 'Depth Charge' (my favourite single of 2016), followed by their debut live performance at the Half Moon, Putney. It certainly exceeded my (already high) expectations. And, for those who don't know, the Senior Service have ex-members of The Prisoners, JTQ, The Solarflares, The Prime Movers to name but a few. The whole event was organised by Steve Worrall of Retroman Blog who definitely deserves a mention for all the hard work he puts in to organising these regular events, with such quality acts. Where would we be without you? I doff my cap to you sir. Their LP The Girl In The Glass Case is beyond sublime.

June saw the return of the Franklin Fest in Edinburgh (review here) which once again was a blast. Well done to the organisers again for supplying us with acts from further afield, such as the mighty Courettes, Thee Jezebels, The Embrooks, The Sine Waves and Oh! Gunquit. Also making their debut were garage lovelies The Nettles and The Gastronauts, featuring frenzied frontman Spencer Envoy of MFC Chicken. 'Scotch Egg' anyone? A fantastic weekend and I'm already looking forward to finding out who will feature in the 2017 line-up.

The best Halloween party in town was hosted and headlined by Geek Maggot Bingo, featuring The Fnords & The Reverse Cowgirls. Showing us that local talent is just as good as the more well-known names mentioned above, and of course they were all part of the Franklin Fest too.  

Lord Rochester played the early December Franklin R&R Club, and they really knocked me out. Maybe something to do with playing at the more attractive end of the venue? Their success lies in their simplicity. A minimal drum kit, sing-a-long swing-a-long tunes, with added bite. We also gratefully received an extra helping from The Gastronauts, with their second appearance at The Franklin this year. On form and as eggs-elent as before.  

This year also saw the release of The No-Things first LP, which is everything you would pretty much expect from seasoned musicians like frontman Laurent Mombel and drummer Calvin Burt. A review of that to follow soon…   

The only downside to this year is that I haven't really travelled far afield due to other commitments, so missed out of a few festivals like The Medway Legends Weekender and The Green Fuzz Weekender (both in Spain). Hopefully next year will be different, but I can't really complain, as my home town (Edinburgh) has such a great scene, and I for one, am very grateful for that.