Oh boy. There goes another year, falling like the rain. The world continues to be a horrible chaos around us, but here we still are. And despite everything, happy to be here we are still. Feel like we say the same thing every year, but it remains the case. These last 12 months you'd have to have been superhuman or inhumanly unfeeling to have not at least partially absorbed the outside stresses of the wider world, but hope - or is that just release? - continues to emerge from known and unknown sources. It's just music. It's just a shop. But sometimes, it's not and everything is a bit better for a second. That's not sentimental, that's survival.

So to that point, thanks to all the artists and labels and the otherwise involved who keep pumping inspiring stuff out into the world and give us a reason to keep existing. We can't buy, sell and trade if there's nothing being made. As a tribute to that effort, we're once again issuing our now customary end-of-year recap that collects together our favourite records, tapes and CDs of the year into one convenient booklet/page on the internet. Hindsight 2024 is many thousands of words split into three sections - a non-hierarchical top ten short list; a non-hierarchical long list; and a non-hierarchical collection of reissues and compilations. If you know of all this music already, hopefully you'll find some version of your year reflected in these pages. If not, there's a chance to catch up in a way we hope you find rewarding. As in previous times, the booklet is free for those who buy something from the shop. If that's not something you want or are able to do, you can purchase individual copies
here. They do cost a fair amount to make, so if you want to throw some money our way, we welcome it. And if simply reading about the music isn't enough, there's a Spotify playlist here where you can try before you buy.

At the end, you'll also find a brief reminder of our own endeavours in 2024 - The Cat's Miaow and Naoki Zushi reissues, new records from Guests, Able Noise and UEVPD, and the cassette of covers we issued in conjunction with The Reds, Pinks & Purples for RSD. If we weren't the most prolific label, at least the end results felt significant to us. Huge appreciation for all the listeners, writers, broadcasters and other stores that helped make that so.  

Finally, 2025 is shaping up to be our most notable to date as we move away from Columbia Road to our new premises at 46 Cheshire Street. It is, in effect, just down the road and so pretty much the same journey to and from, so do not fret if you're local and fear we're abandoning you. Things change for many reasons, and this is a good one that we're in control of. Don't be sad it's over, be happy you can come celebrate the new dawn when we re-open at some point in early/mid January 2025 (more details in the coming weeks).

Cheers for everything. Loads more soon to accompany the already loads here.