From the mind of..

My spotlight series returns, this time to introduce you to one of UK's brightest new stars, Candyfloss. Candyfloss is one of my favourite new talents here in the UK. The London native is a regular on the UK independent scene, plying her trade up and down the country and making new fans wherever she goes. Debuting a mere year ago, she has grown in leaps and bounds already having great showings against Dahlia Black, Jinny and Little Miss Roxxy. By all means don't let her happy go lucky attitude and sweet name fool you, this girl can go in the ring, happily mixing up her style to utilise high flying, solid ground work or her Candy Cane cross arm breaker submission. Candyfloss was trained through one of the UK's finest companies, PROGRESS, whom she also works for. Her time at the ProJo shows, she is excelling rapidly and is turning more than a few heads and I think that international talent will start to look to Candyfloss for matches shortly. At a time where womens w...

[The following review may contain spoilers] So reviewing a film is difficult, gush and risk overdoing it, but under do it and it leads to indifference. Let me start this review by saying, IT is absolutely 100% fantastic. Currently for me, my film of the year. Growing up, my mum read a lot of Stephen King books, and so I found the book IT at a younger age. Upon reading i was immersed in this dark cloud covered Derry community, plagued by a recurring shapeshifting nightmare. The book became one of my favourites. This however lead to a problem, the miniseries version of IT starring Tim Curry.. I didn't like it at all. Although Tim Curry and Co did a great job with the tools at their disposal, this version did not fit with the Derry and Pennywise I had in my head. Skip forward to 2017 and welcome to Derry, Maine.. A picture esque quaint town with a terrible millenia old evil living benethe it. Director Andy Muschietti breathes new life into a horror classic creating somethi...

It's that time, yes another of my introducing series, this time welcome South Jersey/Philadelphia 3-piece Goalkeeper. Summer is the apt time for pop punk, the hot days, a cold beer as you gather to hang out with friends, and that time always requires a soundtrack to accompany it, say hello to Goalkeeper. With a sound that blends 'Blue Skies..' era Ataris, with 'Enema of the State' era Blink 182, the band are very energetic, and lazy comparisons from me aside they are great song writers in there own right. Their latest single 'Pong Partners' is a slice of killer pop punk, upbeat, great chorus, crunchy guitars and melodic gruff vocals. The band have been together a relatively short amount of time but already have an EP 'Gut Feeling' doing the rounds, and being very well received. Goalkeeper have also been plying their trade live, gigging regularly and playing with some awesome bands including one of my favs Eternal Boy. I personally cannot wa...

Here is my track by track review of Neck Deep's latest album 'The Peace and The Panic' Motion Sickness What an excellent opener, a quick choppy pop punk song that welcomes the listener with open arms. It conveys a chest pounding salute to the familiar fans and newcomers alike. Bags of charm and character in this track, it builds up well and has an infectious quality to it. Will certainly remain on my playlist and I cant wait to feel its energy in a live setting. Sample Lyric: 'He said life is the great unknown, Better jump, better run and...' Happy Judgement Day One of the first tracks showcased from the album by the band, easy to see why, compliments of huge truly anthemic chorus. Its a fantastic song to prove that Neck Deep are writing songs that not only sound great but fill the bigger venues they're now playing. An awesome key change on the final chorus will remind anyone why they love pop punk. An instant live classic that will be a welcome par...

Place your hand over your heart, and repeat after me.. I believe in melody, I believe in energy, I believe in pop punk. I am a man who is nearly 32 years old, and I do believe in melody and energy and its why I love pop punk. Some bands have this innate ability to make you flashback to moments in life. Woes are one of those bands. The Scottish quartet have invaded my ears and my mind over these past few months and in doing so, have used there slick powerful pop punk to remind me of lost summers with my friends. Those endless summers of pop punk and Drive-Thru Records, where we chased *unsuccessfully* girls, partied, talked to early hours, made mistakes but more importantly made memories. Woes have that killer throwback quality, but sound as relevent and new as other amazing bands like Wstr or Neck Deep. The band are super DIY too, interacting with their fans, handling production and recording duties aswell as writing huge songs like 'Worst Friend' and 'Be Alone...

So I wanted to write about something else personal to me. For most who know me, they will have known that for the last 10 years or so, I have been straight edge. For people who don't know what that means, basically straight edge is a practice originally started by the hardcore punk scene that sees purveyors abstain from drinking, smoking or drug use, in its most basic form. I was straight edge for quite a long time, up until recently, when I decided to break my edge and partake in alcohol. It has not been something I've taken lightly, I'd built a large chunk of my adult life on being straight edge and living clean. I realised just recently though that you can remain who you want to be, regardless of whether you subscribe to a lifestyle or not. Personally I was never the biggest drinker and probably never will be, truth is though that you do miss out on many social interactions and experiences by somewhat standing on the sidelines. My brother was particularly h...

Do you ever feel empty? I do. Do you ever laugh and joke with room full of people, yet inside you're screaming for help? I do. Depression is something i've battled with since my mid teens, and when I say battled, I do mean battled. No matter how often I slay the beast, it comes back.. sometimes larger than before. It's an awful thing, to be scared of your own thought process, there will of course be those who know this side of me, some however will find these truths shocking. I've been dragged to the edge and back again, had moments I regret and moments that help define me as a person, but every single day I wake up and try to adjust my focus to get on with my day as best I can. I forever play the clown, the good friend, the recounter of many stories, the sentimental guy, the music guy and although they are all parts of me, they sometimes mask how I'm really feeling. I've forever had an outsider complex, never truely feeling like I'd found my place in...