“What do you want for Christmas, then?” “Something wonderful, something that will tell me all about what’s going on in Oxford’s music scene” “Really? Not some socks?” “Really!” “Okay, then”. And with that, the new Nightshift appeared on everybody’s Christmas lists, with apparently nobody realising that because it’s completely free, it doesn’t need to be a gift, so socks can go back on the list.

This month’s cover feature is an interview with Tamara And The Martyrs. There’s also Nightshift‘s songs of the year, the usual overview of news from the local music scene – including an interview with Amelia Fletcher of Talulah Gosh/Heavenly/etc, and reviews of new releases from The Devil, Phil McMinn, Les Clochards, ShaoDow, The Scholars, Bright Works and Deer Chicago. There are lots of gigs in the comprehensive gig guide, and you can read about what’s already happened with live reviews including Mark Eitzel, Young Knives and lots more. There’s an introduction to Duchess, a look back at what was going on in Oxford music five, ten and twenty years ago, and the usual two-page Demo reviews section. Demo of the month is from Paul Brennan, in the Demo Dumper is The Opponent.

Download the December 2013 issue here, and find loads of back issues here.