Personally, I think 2015 has been a great year for music. I've seen some awesome bands, and listened to some fabulous records.

Strangely, this year has also seen my transition from a writer to managing editor. It wasn't at all expected on my part, and I'm very grateful to Kenny McMurtrie and Joe Watson for their faith in my abilities. As with 2015, I'll still be writing, and look forward to hearing more music, both old and new. If you’re a band or label of the garage persuasion, and would like me to review your show / new releases then please drop me a line via the page or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

One of my favourite live shows this year has to be The Missing Souls at the Cosmic Trip Festival back in May. The Cosmic Trip, on the whole, was a very big disappointment. Not really the fault of the bands (although I still can't understand some of the choices of bands playing e.g. The Warlocks) but more to do with the sound / venue. The main stage was just too big, and the presence of any band playing there disappeared into the ether. Luckily The Missing Souls managed to avoid this by playing a pre-festival gig at a small bistro in Bourges town centre. I was knocked off my feet by their enthusiasm and most excellent choice of covers. They have since released their first single, a cover of 'You Just Gotta Know My Mind', and it looks like they have another 7" in the pipeline for early 2016 so very much to look forward to from their camp.

My favourite weekender this year was without a doubt the inaugural Franklin Fest in Edinburgh, which took place in June. Three days of the best rock 'n' roll on offer from bands as far flung as the the Medway! I was astounded by the performance of The Baron Four, who were just sheer brilliance in terms of energy and authenticity, not forgetting musicality (you can read about that show here), as well as the appearance of old favourites The Masonics with special guest Ludella Black, The Wildebeests and The Thanes. Also, it was really good to see the promoters showcase some of the lesser known bands on the opening night, such as The Phlegm. I'm really excited about Franklin Fest 2016, and cannot wait for the line-up to be announced.    

The Franklin has been a constant this year in terms of the quality of bands playing, and the enjoyability of the shows. For a tiny wee shack in the middle of a field, it has something really special. Yes, I know - I've said it all before! More recently they've hosted bands from further afield such as red hot property Les Grys Grys from France, who gave a performance of monumental proportions (see here for more), and the fabulous Oh! Gunquit from down south (review here). Furthermore, it's one of the only places where you can guarantee that the support bands are likely to be just as good as the main act, notable supports this year having been Geek Maggot Bingo, The Brutes, The Black Needles and The No-Things.

All day spectacular Buckfest which took place in Glasgow, is also worth a mention. With many thanks to organiser Alan Gemmel for chatting with Musoss. We saw sterling performances from such bands as The Kosher Pickles and The Bucky Rage (review here). A thoroughly enjoyable day of weird and wonderful rock and roll. Again, I'm looking forward to the same in 2016.       

As for LP's, The Arrogants - No Time To Wait, did it for me. However, The debut LP's from The Baron Four and Oh! Gunquit are very close behind. 

Next year I'm hoping to provide coverage from the Green Fuzz festival in Spain in April, and of course the Franklin Fest in June. 

Finally a huge thanks to all the bands / labels / promoters who've been so co-operative this year - it's truly been a pleasure to make your acquaintance. So please, put on your old-school 3D glasses, and watch this space.

Given that the chance of discovering old music is ever greater these days, the level of competition for new material is greatly increased. Add to that the fact that the scribbled list on my coffee table contained a mere four 2015 album releases and it’s clear I’ve not got a top ten this time around. Martin Courtney’s Many Moons has had multiple plays since coming out a couple of months ago though and I stand by the good, bad & indifferent reviews I’ve given over the past year. Individual songs seem to be making less impact on me year on year and titles are all but unknown due to the ease of just filling up a playlist and letting the PC or mp3 device take the strain. Personal 7” purchases have increased though whilst I’m also busy getting rid of the bulk of my CDs.

In the live sphere it’s been a very good year personally and for the site, however. New festivals (Franklin Fest, Rockaway Beach), first time attendance of established events (Incubate, Book Yer Ane Fest, Buckfest) and maintaining ties with others (Le Guess Who?, Y-Not). Consequently few individual gigs have been as memorable for me as performances at those events (or bear comparison to the entire event in a couple of cases) but Oh! Gunquit & The Black Needles deserve a mention as do Aidan Moffat & Bill Wells, Martha, Eagulls, The Charlatans and The War On Drugs. The Spook School’s album launch and their later show in Dundee at BYAF IX, coupled with the quality of Try To Be Hopeful, put them in the position of most enjoyable act of my year.

For the site as a whole 2016 will see a new Managing Editor in place as well as the introduction of a new weekly column in conjunction with Scruff Of The Neck records and further profiles of those entities fighting the diy fight. We'll have our first coverage from Hamburg's Garageville festival and our aim remains to cover a wide range of music on record and live throughout the UK and beyond – should you feel you can regularly contribute to that aim then by all means get in touch at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

As per usual at this time of year, given the quiet release schedules and the fact most people have a lot of other stuff to do the site will be basically dormant for a couple of weeks. Songs that have been overlooked in the general crush throughout previous months could well though be getting tweeted so look out for those & have an enjoyable holiday period.