Ok, it feels like a lot has been going on recently, although that maybe just because we've been away for a few days and forgotten what life is actually like. I'll try and keep this brief so that I don't bore you too much (although you are taking time out of your life to read this, so I'm guessing you're not exactly snowed under right now huh?).

Our Kerrang review came out last week and was boringly predictable. The usual negative rant about pop-punk, then a vague mention of us at the end of the review. You can hear us chatting about it in the new podcast which will be up this week but it was no surprise. I would rather be slated for something other than simply being a pop-punk band...that's all we've ever wanted to be and it still remains a passion for me after all these years - if that's the worst thing going for us, I guess we're not doing too bad at all.

There were a bunch of less high-profile reviews that came out in the last few weeks, they will be going up on the site over the next few days. There is a wide range from 8/10 to 2/10, but mostly positive - there is a saying that it is better for a few people to love something than for everyone to simply like it, I guess with divisive reviews we got something right at least, hehe.

A lot of the reviews mention the "slick production", or "high-quality production" etc. I take these as massive compliments - everything they see and hear is done by the three of us, and I take a personal responsibility to make everything as professional as possible...because that's the kind of band I want us to be.

So with the album promo still going on, we went back into the studio this weekend to start working with some new techniques for recording drums. If the quality of recording on our old EP's was ok, and the quality on the album was good...the new recordings are going to sound f*cking awesome. We spent a little while working on it and by the end of the night, it was blowing me away what we are going to be able to do on the next set of songs.

On the same note, Kev thinks I may have a form of OCD when it comes to recording. Even though we were only messing around and not actually recording anything for release, I insisted on taking time to do everything as if we were making another album. He kept talking me out of it and telling me to get on with it. He may well be right, but with the drums now sounding so good, I intend to become obsessive about vocal production. I am virtually unable to listen to music now without straining to hear every harmony and technique being used. I want to have more heavily compressed and set-back backing vocals, much more layering of lead vocals and I want to have a longer break between recording the vocals and mixing them - you don't care about any of these things but I am typing as I think so just go along with it. Basically I want to make our voices sound better, poppier and fuller. Just nod and agree.

There are some cool things in the pipeline, and if they come off it will be awesome. I hate it when bands say stuff like that, but it really is the case that most things that happen to a band are only confirmed at the last minute, and some of them never happen at all - so it's better just not to tell anyone in case it never happens. If you know us personally, just ask and we'll spill our guts without thinking twice.

We played a bunch of shows recently but if you want the lowdown on them you'll have to read the tour journal on the lifers. I will post in there later today.

So - other than band stuff what's been going on? Well, I've been feeling a lot better about life in general really. When I was about 15, I was yet to become consumed by music and wanted to be an author, or a writer of some sort (this urge has not left me, but I have zero time for it at the moment - it'll happen one day though), I had mentioned this to my sister who in her usual sarcastic way said, "shouldn't you write something then?" I believe I had been out drinking the night before, a common occurrence during my teen years due to suburban boredom, and replied "They say you should write what you know, from life experience - but how can I do that without going out and living life?" She looked at me and seemed to be devoid of a witty comeback - my family's relationships are based on witty comebacks so this was rare. "Hmmm, good point". I took this to be a positive response at the time, mainly because it seemed to sanction my teenage irresponsibility with alcohol and occasionally deviant behaviour - but it's also something I try and remind myself of when I can. I throw myself into work to avoid feeling shitty about things, but sometimes feeling shitty is the correct response to a situation and it is what you need to do to get through to the other side. Life can also become boring without the highs and lows...and as much as they suck, I try and relish them and see them for what they are, which is another experience to make you wiser, smarter and better equipped to deal with life.

I know I am doing ok. I hope you are too.

Max x