The first single "Plot Holes" from Better Than The Book's upcoming 3rd full-length album "Side Character In My Own Life" has been released! Listen now and pre-order the album on Bandcamp!
Hi everyone and hope you've been having some great festive celebrations this week! I'm super happy to announce that the time has finally come to share the first moment of this next upcoming chapter of Better Than The Book - Side Character In My Own Life! Check out the first pre-release single "Plot Holes"! I hope it blows you away:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZFPOGZo85o
Bandcamp: https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/track/plot-holes-radio-edit
Plot Holes was one of the first tracks to be written for the upcoming Side Character In My Own Life album, and like most of the album was written back in 2020 / early 2021 (Track 05 "Rewrite" was rewritten in 2023). With the world in lockdown, some questionable characters pulling the strings, not to mention some horrible things going on on top of that, it was a tense and emotional era and it's no wonder that the world's collective consciousness was at breaking point. Plot Holes was written to help process all that was going on, about how some uncomfortable realities had to be faced, and how at the time (and still now) the world just didn't seem to make sense anymore. I hope you find it enjoyable, relatable and that it brings some much needed catharsis, power and motivation to you however you experienced these past 5 years!
The Side Character In My Own life album is more or less a snapshot of that time in my life with another 5 years of performance, writing, audio engineering and production experience under my belt which I really believe is my best collective release to date! With the album art and many other things still left to sort out, I don't have a concrete release date planned for the album just yet but I'm hoping for the first half of this year without rushing things. I was determined to get something out before 2024 was over though, and Plot Holes seemed like the best foot forward so to speak. The album goes through many style shifts and motions, but I think this set's the overall musical tone nicely!
Bandcamp pre-orders are now open along with the Plot Holes (Radio Edit) single ready to download, and I'll be updating the page with the pre-release singles as they're released + artwork, lyrics and descriptions in due time. Of course the current art is just a placeholder for what's to come, and there is a LOT of new music to come! Check out the track list for the new album below:
https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/side-character-in-my-own-life
Better Than The Book - Side Character In My Own Life
01 - 2020 Was A Write-off, But What Comes Next?
02 - Side Character In My Own Life
03 - Mood Swings
04 - Red Kite
05 - Rewrite
06 - Don't Be Too Hard On Yourself
07 - Hold Me Tight
08 - Bump In The Night
09 - Plot Holes
10 - You'll Never Be Too Old For This
Bonus Tracks
11 - Hearts Racing Backwards
12 - Plot Holes (Alternative Version)
13 - Hold Me Tight (Non-Acoustic)
14 - Side Character In My Own Life (Acoustic)
+ Additional Radio Edits for Tracks 07, 08, 09 & 10
Written, performed and produced by Nick Standing [Jabun]
Recorded, mixed and mastered at JabunAudio by Nick Standing [Jabun]
Artwork, images and photography by Nick Standing [Jabun]
No generative A.I. tools were used in the creation of this album.
More album credits and special thanks are to come but for now I'd like to extend an immediate thanks to my family and friends (both online and offline) for their support and a big thanks to the current supporters on Patreon with extra mention to $10+ patrons: Nathan Puray, and Michael White! Thank you all so much for your help and support in making my musical dreams a reality! You folks are amazing!
Of course my supporters on Patreon are celebrating today with the full download package of the Plot Holes (Radio Edit) single which includes Mp3s (+ WAVs for the $10 patrons) and full sized placeholder art! If any of that sounds good to you, then consider becoming a patron for as little as $1 today, and remember you'll be getting the full back-catalogue of rewards for your tier when you join, including the full Better Than The Book, Jabun and Nick Standing discographies, bonus Patreon exclusives and much more! Find out more below:
$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/116513608
$10 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/116513612
Reward Archives: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842
Find out more: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding
That about wraps things up for this post and I'll be back in a few days for the usual monthly round-up of news! More Better Than The Book is coming soon as I prepare for this biggest album launch yet and after hearing Plot Holes I hope you're a hyped as I am for the rest of the album! Until the next single launch and more I hope you enjoy the new music and thanks as always for supporting Better Than The Book and my music however you can! Take care, happy holidays, and I'll see you in 2025! It's gonna be one heck of a ska punk filled year!