In partnership with Marshall
Gen And The Degenerates
Gig of the year? There was a show in Penn’s Peak, Pennsylvania, that was in this Western-style theatre that was all wood on the inside, so it looked like some line-dancing club or something. It was on top of a mountain, the crowd was drunk and rowdy, and at one point during a song, Gen made a full sprint across the venue through the crowd, with venue security in pursuit. Fun.
Best LP of 2024? Foxing continue to be one of the best and most underrated bands on the planet, and the new Fontaines DC album is unreal.
Tell us about your own best track from 2024? There is one song we’ve been playing live a lot, that says fuck it to the idea of basing your self-image on what people want from you. That resonates with us a lot. The title is taken from an essay by Eve Babitz, “I Used to Be Charming”, and it’s sonically riffing on stuff like Squeeze, Blondie, B-52s, Talking Heads.
King Nun
Best LP of 2024? No Name by Jack White. Just listen to it.
What music did you rediscover in 2024? Cosmo’s Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival was the soundtrack to a lot of long, late-night drives on our UK and European headline tours.
Tell us about your own best track from 2024? “Figure 8”. We wanted to write a song with the same energy as our live show, and the second we found something that felt right, the rest of the song fell in our lap and wrote itself.
Terry Marshall
Gig of the year? Playing at the Ealing Blues Festival in July with the majority of artists who appear on my recent album, Living The Blues. The festival is an important feature of the blues scene and was started over 30 years ago by Robert Hokum who we were lucky enough to have play on the album, a good friend and sadly recently departed.
Goal for 2025? At the age of 80, my main goal is to still be playing in 2025 when I’m 81!
Laurence Jones
Gig of the year? Supporting Status Quo at Dreamland in Margate in the summer. It was great to be back in the Netherlands for my headline tour, always a highlight of the year for me personally.
Goal for 2025? I’m really looking forward to my 2025 Music Venue Trust tour!
Gallus
Gig of the year? McChuills after TRNSMT was probably the sweatiest gig we’ve ever played – a lot of photos were unusable due to the condensation in the room! – and we’re about to tour the UK with Dead Pony and Soapbox so any one of them could end up being a contender.
Best LP of 2024? I loved Kneecap and Fontaines DC’s records. Kneecap’s ability to bring their particular brand of rap to an increasingly bigger British audience feels like a real watershed moment in our society, and Fontaines’ record is banger after banger.
What music did you rediscover in 2024? I got back into Mogwai’s last album As The Love Continues and have been listening to Arab Strap a lot again recently. Scottish indie music from the ’90s/early 2000s was obviously very formative in my own tastes so it’s been nice to revisit some of those bands.
Goal for 2025? Dethrone Taylor Swift! And stay humble.
Nova Twins
What was 2024’s biggest creative challenge? Writing our next album while on the road was a huge challenge. We were constantly switching between two headspaces, from high-energy performances across America to focusing in the studio. It felt like being in two different worlds.
Gig of the year? Hellfest in France was incredible! We were so emotional seeing tens of thousands of passionate music lovers, making us feel like we were all part of something bigger.
Therapy?
Gig of the year? This year has been a relatively quiet touring year for us, but we do have an amazing end-of-year lined up with the Troublegum 30th-anniversary shows.
Best LP of 2024? The release that inspired me the most was the “We Are Making A New World” EP by Gimic on Crew Cuts records. Inventive punk rock with intelligent arrangements and incendiary delivery.
What music did you rediscover in 2024? Buzzcocks! When I was 12 they were my favourite band, and Love Bites was released on my birthday. I got a paper round just to buy it. It’s just as good as ever.
Goal for 2025? The number one goal would be getting new songs in place, rehearsing and recording.