BST huh, seems we have the same timezone this time! Looking forward to this. Up North atm but shall tune in if I can...

That cover looks great IRL too!

And if you plan on listening a lot, best get multiple copies of each. :P

Exciting times! Release day coming up real fast now too!

Ooo! Do the clocks not go forward an hour in spring for you too? Good to hear though :) Hope you can make it!

Yup really pleased with the way the cover print turned out. It sure is coming up fast indeed (still a fair bit to sort too). Lol on the multi copies XD That maaay be excessive, not that I'd complain XD

Exciting times ahead! Thanks for checking in!

They do! But maybe there's a certain differential in when the time shifts? BST and GMT+1 seem to be the same now, somehow, I didn't expect them to be... I guess I'll see if this really is the case with the YT notification time later...

Haha, aye, but all these discs do wear and tear through the years, for excessive use it may really be a necessity!

Indeed! 👍✨

Ah I see! Yup by definition BST and GMT+1 are the same :) For sure, best to check the YT timings to be absolutely sure.

Ah too true, especially for the vinyls. CDs should hopefully be longer lasting, but even those to get skippy after MANY years depending on storage etc... Good to know!

The final pre-release single "Bump In the Night" from Better Than The Book's upcoming 3rd full-length album "Side Character In My Own Life is OUT ! Pre-order Vinyls and CDs now on elasticStage! Side Character In My Own Life releases on Friday 13th June 2025!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great May 2025! It's time for another big music release and I'm super happy to share the final pre-release single Bump In the Night from Better Than The Book's upcoming 3rd full-length album Side Character In My Own Life! Check it out below and I hope it blows you away!

Bandcamp: https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/track/side-character-in-my-own-life

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEDZKBDunR8

And here on Newgrounds:

And if you're a $1 Patron you have the mp3 and artwork downloads here:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/128923738

Bump In The Night is a nostalgic trip into childhood and teenage fears and horror franchises contrasting with the real scary stuff about adulthood. There's a tonne of references in there (which may shed some light on the album artwork now too), and overall it's a heartfelt pep talk to keep pushing on even when times seem the darkest. Without wanting to toot my own horn too (ironic since there aren't any horns in this track), although not flashy I think this track features my most soulful guitar solo to date and I'm really pleased with the way this one turned out! I hope you find something relatable and comforting in this song and enjoy all the references!

With the final pre-release single out, in case you missed it on Monday I am super happy to announce that the Side Character In My Own Life album will be releasing on Friday 13th June 2025 (Jason Voorhees reference lol), not only on digital download, but on CD and Vinyl too! Physical preorders are now open on elasticStage! Check it out below:

https://elasticstage.com/betterthanthebookuk/releases/side-character-in-my-own-life-album

And as mentioned on Monday, elasticStage is an on demand CD and Vinyl pressing service so if that's something you're interested in I highly recommend getting your pre-orders in early so they have time to make the record for the release date! I'll be making a full video review of the CD and Vinyl albums soon, but the short version is if you want ultra hi-fi sound and bonus tracks go CD, if you want big art prints, lyric sheets and that real world tactility (at the expense of some fidelity) go vinyl, and if you can't decide, just get both! XD

In the mean time, digital pre-orders are now open on Bandcamp too along with all three pre-release singles Plot Holes (Radio Edit), Side Character In My Own Life and Bump In The Night (Radio Edit) ready to stream and download! Check out the track list (note the format differences) and credits for the new album below and I hope you're looking forward to all the music still to come:

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 (CD and Digital Only - Not Vinyl)

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 (Digital Only)

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.

A huge thanks to my family and friends (both online and offline) for their support and to the current supporters on Patreon with extra mention to past $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!

That about wraps things up for this post! Mark your calendars for Friday 13th June 2025 for Better Than The Book's biggest album launch to date and until then, I hope you enjoy exploring the CD and Vinyl releases (get those pre-orders in) and thanks as always for supporting Better Than The Book and my music however you can! Exciting times ahead, and I can't wait to fill your ears with more ska punk and pop punk vibes in 3 weeks time! Take care!

Better Than The Book is back on BBC Music Introducing Sussex & Surrey tomorrow (Thursday 29th) night! Tune in from 8pm BST!

Hi Everyone! A quick bit of HUGE News to share! My ska / pop punk project Better Than The Book is back on BBC Music Introducing Sussex & Surrey tomorrow night! Melita says she'll be spinning the new single Bump In The Night! Tune and text in tomorrow! Thanks so much Melita! Details below:

BBC Introducing in Sussex & Surrey, 8-10pm Thursdays

BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey, BBC Sounds, smart speaker & DAB

Listen in Brighton on 95.3 FM

Listen in Sussex & Surrey 104-104.8 FM

Listen nationally & internationally online at BBC Sounds here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_surrey

Text in during the show (you need to start texts with the word ‘sussex’ ) on 81333 (normal rates apply) with your name for a shout out

WhatsApp during the show on 08000 321 333 (start with ‘sussex’ ) or click here https://bit.ly/311cIYF

And feel free to tag me on Threads & Insta at @melitadennett

You’ll also find it here for the next month:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7kh

There’s also a repeat this Saturday 8-10pm

Thanks for the support and hope to hear you there on the Radio tomorrow night!

That's awesome! Coincidentally/in context unfortunately I'll be at a concert at this particular time, but looking forward to hearing the show later on; how you were introduced there! Intrigued to hear if you'll be starting the show this time too...

Great news overall. Great single. Wonder if I caught all the references too hmm, need to listen again...

Cheers CD and no worries on missing the radio show! I don't think I'll be opening for the show this time but we'll see I suppose! Ooo, what concert are you going to? Enjoy anyhow! Hehe, interested to hear what references you did catch at some point XD

Ah did you know you would last time? Fingers crossed for a nice surprise then. :) The concert's Simon Superti, he's a local, not super well-known here either but maybe someday! Currently most famous for (it's in Swedish though): https://youtu.be/AKmymq4vfbg

Aye, will have to add in a breakdown of those in the email! :D

I didn't but I was advised to tune in promptly for 8pm last time XD Simon sounds great btw! Reminds of Amy Macdonald who I hear fairly frequently over here :) Thanks for sharing!

Hehe indeed and looking forward to it!

Aha! Maybe they're thinking it goes without saying this time. ;) Ah that's a noble comparison! I think so too, so far I've just seen live footage, so hopefully the actual live will actually be like the footage too. :D

✨👍

Hehe, turned out to be towards the end of the show this time. Hope the concert was good!

Ah dang. Well, maybe a last track gives a lasting impression, too... one to start the show and one to end it!

It was, thanks. :) Not a huge crowd, but great energy, and he was good live! More concerts to come in a few weeks... I'm pretty hyped up about Sepultura in particular.

Ah good to hear! Looking forward to hearing more about it as and when!

June 2025 Patreon & News Post: Better Than The Book's Bump In The Night single release, less than 2 weeks until album release, CD & Vinyl pre-orders open, Radio features on Beefy's Ska Club and BBC Introducing, and MUCH MORE!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great start to Summer! It's been an incredibly busy month and only set to get busier for the next few weeks too! With Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life album coming next Friday 13th June (in less than 2 weeks), I'll be holding off for $10 DEMOlition Pigeon Patreon rewards this time, but hope to be back to it soon! There is MUCH to share in this post so let's get straight to it!

First of all as I'm sure you're well aware, on May 23rd Better Than The Book released the 3rd and final pre-release single Bump In The Night from the upcoming Side Character In My Own Life album and wooooweee did it go down well! Not only has it racked up over 4500 listens here on Newgrounds alone (on top of a front page award and Takeover Tuesday feature), but the single was also featured on BBC Introducing: The South's radio show too! Thanks so much for the support everyone and you can catch up with the BBC Introducing replay for the next month over on BBC Sounds (I'm on towards the end, but there are some great tracks throughout the show as usual):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002cxxy

Bump In The Night was also featured on The Punk Site's news feed and on Retweeter Radio! Thanks for sharing the new music peeps!

May 25, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Bump In The Night single and CD/Vinyl announcement featured on ThePunkSite.com

May 25, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Bump In The Night (Radio Edit) added to The Retweeter Hits Radio Rotation

And flipping back to the previous single and title track Side Character In My Own Life, that track received its first international radio play in Australia on the #1 ska show in the world: Beefy's Ska Club (formally The Ska Show with Beefy)! The show is available to listen again as a podcast and what a heck of a show it was! I think it's the best shoutout I've ever been given on a radio show! Thanks so much to Beefy for sharing the music and all the kind words and I hope you love the album when it comes next week!

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/beefys-ska-club-17th-may-2025-pod-2-ep-613/id1510126760?i=1000708862516

Also In case you hadn't heard, Side Character In My Own Life is now available to pre-order on CD and Vinyl on ElasticStage too and you can read more about the album and listen to and download the pre-release singles over on Bandcamp. Check it out!

https://elasticstage.com/betterthanthebookuk

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/side-character-in-my-own-life

Finally for BTTB news, I'm pleased to announce that after a little trouble clearing a public domain sample, the album has been fully approved for worldwide digital distribution too and will be available on iTunes, Spotify, Tidal and all those places come Friday 13th as well! Woot woot!

Onto some non-BTTB news, it's been a very busy month in other areas as I've been away on a few trips as well as fixing up some stuff around the studio! Starting with the trip, on May 11th I had the amazing and unforgettable opportunity to see one of my favourite bands ELLEGARDEN play their first European gig EVER! For those who don't know, ELLEGARDEN is a Japanese pop-punk band who started around the turn of the millennium but went on an almost 10 year hiatus before returning just before the pandemic hit. I never thought I'd have an opportunity to see them, but as soon as I found out they were going to be playing in London (alongside local heroes FEEDER) I just had to make sure I could go! I've been using these guys as mixing reference material since the One Small Step EP, and learnt so much from listening to their records! It was an amazing night and I hope they come back again soon! While I was in the pits only a few meters from the front, some other gig goers got some great footage of most of the concert from the balcony (you can even spot me in the crowd if you know who to look for XD)! Check it out below and if you every get the chance, go see them for one hell of a party!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4oqBMGy2FBglFJttux9g_fGcbltZwDGb

Next on the news for this month, some studio updates! While I was down for the gig I went to visit my long time mentor of sorts Martin, and as tends to happen I ended up leaving with a piece of his studio, this time an old Yamaha 8 channel mixing desk from the 80s! I've been looking for a mixer for a long time, so I was super excited when he offered it! After a clean, some re-soldering of connections and a hefty drench of electrical cleaning solution, it's working great, and I'll integrating into the studio along with Martin's old patch bay very soon! Thanks so much, Martin! Alongside fixing up the mixer, I also finally got around to putting grills on my homemade Leslie rotary speaker and got it put back together and serviced! There's a new YouTube video all about it which I'll get back to in a second. Finally in the studio updates, my main guitar amp for the last 18 years was acting up again and I really thought it was gone for good this time but again, I managed to resurrect it and it seems to be doing much better than even before now! Phew! While I was at it I figured I'd service the bass and organ amps too which were working but not quite as well as they could have been... A can of electrical contact cleaner sure does wonders!

Finally for this month, some more YouTube videos to share! This is the first time in 2 years that I've not been recording 2 videos a week so this time it's just 2 videos to share this month but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless! Check out the updated video below:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWEmqIhrNPvQTBoOjZdKLgL4ecTvLz6sm

And here's a list of the latest additions:

• Choppy Glissando and Ghost Notes Organ Practice
• Leslie got grills!

That about wraps things up for this time! It's just 10 days until Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life album finally releases (I can hardly believe it), so I'm going to be working my butt off to prepare all the promo for that, and trying to get some rest where I can in the mean time. More interesting projects are coming on the horizon now though so it won't be long until there's more music to come! Until then, thanks as always for supporting my work however you can and I'll see you next week for the big album launch! Take care!

$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/128920974

Reward Archives: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

Find out more: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

A sneak peek at the CD and vinyl releases for Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life album (coming on Friday 13th June next week)!

Hi everyone and hope you're excited for the album launch next week! I thought I'd take a moment to give everyone a big sneak peek at the physical CD and vinyl copies of the new Better Than The Book - Side Character In my Own Life album from elasticStage! Check out the full video review on the JabunAudio YouTube channel and there's also a shorter sneak peek below:

Full video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXs83t1Nh1M

Short sneak peek:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/b4LbNcz3bbc

Just one week left until the big album launch and pre-orders are open for the CDs and Vinyls on elasticStage as well as the digital download on Bandcamp where you can already get and listen to the pre-release singles! Check those out below and get excited for what's sure to be Better Than The Book's biggest album project yet! SEVEN DAYS!!!!

elasticStage:

https://elasticstage.com/betterthanthebookuk/releases/side-character-in-my-own-life-album

Bandcamp:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/side-character-in-my-own-life

Better Than The Book's 3rd full-length album "Side Character In My Own Life" releases this coming Friday! Join me for the premier / listening party on YouTube on Friday 13th June at 8pm BST!

It's almost finally time for the big album launch, and so I'd like to invite all of you to join me for the premier listening party for Better Than The Book's 3rd full-length album "Side Character In My Own Life" on YouTube! Mark your calendars, pin this link, and tune in below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhB1UtJKccw

The premier will be commencing on Friday 13th June at 8pm BST before the release goes live on Bandcamp!

Subscribe to JabunAudio to keep updated and in the loop:

https://www.youtube.com/@JabunAudio

And read more on the Bandcamp page below:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/track/side-character-in-my-own-life

Remember that CD and vinyl pre-orders are now open on elasticStage!

https://elasticstage.com/betterthanthebookuk/releases/side-character-in-my-own-life-album

And for a sneak peek at those, check out these videos below:

Full video review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXs83t1Nh1M

Short sneak peek:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/b4LbNcz3bbc

In the mean time, digital pre-orders are now open on Bandcamp too along with the 3 pre-release singles Plot Holes (Radio Edit), Side Character In My Own Life, and Bump In The Night (Radio Edit) ready to download! Check out the track list (note the format differences) and credits for the new album below and I hope you're looking forward to all the music still to come:

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 (CD and Digital Only - Not Vinyl)

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 (Digital Only)

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.

A huge thanks to my family and friends (both online and offline) for their support and to the current supporters on Patreon with extra mention to past and present $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!

That about wraps things up for this post and I'll be back on Friday 13th for the long awaited big album launch and a tonne of Patreon rewards! Until then, thanks as always for supporting Better Than The Book and my music however you can and I hope you're as excited as I am for this next chapter of Better Than The Book! Mark your calendars for Friday 13th June at 8pm BST and see you at the party!

Eyy you've been going to concerts too! :D That's awesome. Looks and sounds like an awesome show too. Curious how big a venue that was at - are Ellegarden well-known over there?

And the grand album premiere's today! Exciting! Awesome news re:recent promos, Australia and radioplay too!

Fantastic show indeed! ELLEGARDEN are huge in Japan but not much over here at all (most of the people were there for FEEDER which are more well known over here). I'd say medium sized venue? I think the booking site said 1500 capacity?

Indeed Indeed! Exciting times ahead, I really hope people like the rest of album when it's finally revealed! Only a few hours to wait now :D I think it's actually already live in some streaming places because of the time difference (Spotify for example). Bandcamp is going live at the premier though :D

Better Than The Book's 3rd full-length album "Side Character In My Own Life" has been released! Grab it on Bandcamp or on CD and Vinyl at elasticStage!

Hi everyone and hope you're as excited as I am on this very fine Friday 13th of June! It's finally FINALLY time and I'm super excited to announce that Better Than The Book's 3rd full length album "Side Character In My Own Life" has just been released!!! Check it out including all the album credits and about sections over on Bandcamp and pick it up on CD and/or Vinyl over on elastic stage!

Bandcamp:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/side-character-in-my-own-life

CDs & Vinyls on elasticStage:

https://elasticstage.com/betterthanthebookuk/releases/side-character-in-my-own-life-album

And here's a quick video of what to expect from the CD and Vinyl releases:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/b4LbNcz3bbc

And here's the full stream here on Newgrounds of course:

And I'm posting the album art as my very first submission to the art portal too:

Of course my Patreon supporters have a full digital download of album too, that's the Mp3s of the full 10 track album, 4 bonus tracks, 4 radio edits, the full sized album artwork and pre-release Plot Holes (Single) photo, and the vinyl album lyric sheets (+ the master WAV files for the $10 patrons)! If that's something you're interested then become a patron and remember that you'll get access too my full discography and past rewards for your tier including all the music from Better Than The Book and Jabun as well as a tonne of exclusive downloads and bonus tracks. Find out more below:

$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/130599781

$10 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/130599817​

Reward Archives: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

Find out more: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

This album has been a major undertaking and undoubtedly my biggest project to date! I started writing Side Character In My Own Life back in 2020, and since Hopes and Dreams we've had a global pandemic, I've been to hospital a fair few times, had 2 major computer meltdowns, had a tonne of equipment broken, then resurrected, then broken and resurrected again, and had a handful of live shows booked which never came to fruition (for many reasons including those above). To be finally at the finish line so to speak with this project feels unreal to me and with all three of the pre-release singles featured on the radio before the album even released already, including Plot Holes and Bump In The Night on BBC Introducing and the title track Side Character In My Own Life making onto the Ska Time show on Button Down Radio as well as Beefy's Ska Club over in Australia, I have no doubt that this album is going to blow your socks off!

To everyone who's supported this project and Better Than The Book, the live band peeps, the DJs and promoters, friends and family, fans and supporters on Patreon with special extra mention to past and present $10+ patrons: Nathan Puray, and Michael White during this project, I extend my deepest thanks for giving me the time and space to make this dream a reality and I hope that you enjoy it and it's an album you'll remember forever!

That about wraps things up for today but Better Than The Book isn't done quite yet and I'm happy to announce that I'll be releasing a little extra something next month on July 23rd before I call this project closed. Some of you may have already guessed what it is but I'll leave that to your imagination for the moment! Until the next time, thanks as always for supporting Better Than The Book and my music projects however you can, and I hope you enjoy Side Character In My Own Life. Take care everyone and while I have no idea what comes next, I'm excited to see how things unfold! THIS IS MY 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 (CD and Digital Only - Not Vinyl)

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 (Digital Only)

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.

Ah that's cool to hear!

FEEDER huh, paradoxially I've heard quite a bit about ELLEGARDEN at this point, but FEEDER was new to me. XD

Enough to get that infectious kind of concert energy going for sure then! Very cool.

Was at that Sepultura show I mentioned last week, which turned out to be a part of their 40th anniversary tour, their potentially final tour, for which they played 40 tracks/show, and apparently they'd recorded their last two albums in Sweden no less!!! Happy I went to that... had really only heard a small sliver of their older music before this. The crowd was probably a few thousand people at least, not packed but also real good energy.

It seems they do! :D Ah interesting. Different release time on Spotify then? Regardless of timezone, the time would still be the same overall all zones no...?

Aw yeah! :D And it turned out great! It really has been in the making for quite some time, didn't realize how many years at this point... something special next month hmmmm... whatever it is it sounds potentially instrumental to the album's success. ;)

Glad you actually put out all the individual tracks on YT too, as many artists seem to do these days, I hope that call's a good thing for business too; actually a notable boost long-term in subscribers and everything, potential for all kinds of individual track playlist inclusions for one...

Nicely done with the release and promos and all; hope more of these masterpieces start popping up on the radio from here on! Been fun to follow this build all the way to the grand finale!

Hehe lol, I guess that's what you get from hanging out with me XD Indeed indeed very good!

Oh amazing on all accounts. That must've been a loooong show! I don't recall any of their music off the top of my head, but I definitely know of them. I have heard Scandinavia is a great place for metal. Good to hear :D

Woot woot! Re release times... it's a bit strange and I'm still not quite sure how it all works. It might be that certain places update at specific times in the day or something while other can be set to go at a very specific time? The mysteries of distribution...

Yeah almost 6 years! It feels crazy for it to be finally out :) Heheh, it looks like you've seen 2 moves ahead XD Only time will tell if you're correct though XD

Ah thanks! Yeah I noticed that's what people seem to being doing these days so I figured I'd follow suit :) I'll be uploading the individual tracks here on NG as well but I'll be trickling them out over the course of the month I think to (aim to) keep the hype going :)

Thanks so much again and indeed I hope now that it's all out there, there are more takers for the radio :D Lots to choose from! (Stations, shows and tracks I mean XD). Cheers!

I guess so! XD Good bands to get introduced to though!

Though that said I wonder if they actually did play a full 40, I lost count, but the show wasn't more than a couple hours so... maybe they did just half the set or so at this particular venue. Cut for time.

This might be the song they're most known for: https://youtu.be/F_6IjeprfEs

Ah, interesting...

Eagerly waiting to see if said predictions are accurate. :3

Nice. For potential frontpage features that seems like a good plan too, not as likely to get a bundle featured at once here.

Here's hoping and looking forward to a lot of those, and shows, some day! :D

Cheers!

Various replying nods here, and for sure you've definitely introduced me to lots of cool music too! Ah I do recognise that Sepultura song somewhat :) That's what I'm hoping re the Front Page, more chance for each track to get some individual attention/love. Seems to be working so far :D Lots of cheers!

July 2025 News Post: Radio features and a TONNE of Newgrounds awards for Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life album, Announcing the bonus Instrumentals album (+ Early Access for Patrons) + Guitar and CD/Vinyl videos and more updates!

(This months post got long here's full version: https://jabun.newgrounds.com/news/post/1546537)

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great summer so far! As I'm sure you're already well aware it's been a monumentally busy month gone by as Better Than The Book released its 3rd full-length album Side Character In My Own Life on June 13th, and what a splash it's made already in only the first 2 and a half weeks since its release! 4 tracks featured on the radio (so far) including on BBC Introducing in the UK and Beefy's Ska Club in Australia (The #1 Ska Radio show in the world) and EVERY track on the main album as well as 3 out of 4 bonus tracks and the full album stream has received Front Page Feature awards (15 awards total) here on Newgrounds! The album's up in full on Newgrounds now too, so check out the full playlist here:

or the full album stream here:

Along with that, the release has been shared on a few cool music sites and blogs including World Beyond's Blog, The Punk Site, Pete's Rock News and Views, and even the elasticStage Instagram (the people who make the CD and Vinyl releases for the album)! Check out some fantastic podcast replays of the radio shows and the blog features below:

June 21, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Hearts Racing Backwards featured on Beefy's Ska Club Podcast (with an album review!)​​

​June 20, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life (Single) featured on The Warp Factor Radio Show​​​​​​​

​June 14, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life album featured on the World Beyond Blog

​June 13, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life album featured on ThePunkSite.com

June 9, 2025 - Better Than The Book's band feature page updated on Pete's Rock News and Views

​June 9, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life CD and Vinyl releases featured on elasticStage's Instagram

And along with a tonne of nice encouragement and comments for the new album and Better Than The Book, I'd like to share 2 of my favourite comments I've heard since the release:

''​A huge milestone and a massive effort, Better Than The Book's new release is a heartfelt reflection on everything Nick’s been through since the last release. Yet, in true ska-punk fashion, it’s not just about struggle—it’s a celebration of the good stuff life throws your way between the chaos. Packed with irony, energy, and infectious optimism, this record reminds us that even if things go off the rails, they do get better'' - Vladimir Kuznetsov via Bandcamp on Side Character In My Own Life

''Not every track is a ska track... there’s a few ska tracks; there’s a few rock tracks; there’s all sorts; there’s something there for everyone! ... Well done, Nick! I am very VERY encouraged by this album... Compliments to the chef! ... Go and buy it, just buy the album people! Nick has put a hell of a lot of work into this one and it shows! It’s so good; so well produced as well! There’s not a bad track on it!'' - ​Beefy on the Side Character In My Own Life album | Beefy's Ska Club (#1 Ska Radio Show in the world)

Thanks so much to everyone for the support and for sharing my music and I'm so happy that people are enjoying this new album! Being super honest for a moment, I know that not many people are buying music these days, but if you really enjoyed Side Character In My Own Life (or Better Than The Book's music in general) and want to support the project, please consider picking up a copy on Bandcamp (or becoming a Patreon Supporter to download the album) or a CD / Vinyl from elasticStage. Remember that despite how it may seem, I'm still just one guy making these records with whatever equipment I can scrape together, no label, or financial backing or anything like that, just the kindness of people who want to help me out however they can, so anything you can do to help means the world to me to try and keep this project going and growing to new places (and there are some big plans in the pipeline if I can make it happen)! Thanks so much again everyone and if you STILL haven't listen to the album yet, check it out on Bandcamp and or pick up a CD / Vinyl below:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/side-character-in-my-own-life

https://elasticstage.com/betterthanthebookuk/releases/side-character-in-my-own-life-album

With such a great few weeks since the album launch, I'd like to announce that to celebrate, I'll be releasing a bonus instrumental version of the album on July 23rd! Check out the edited album artwork below and if you're a Patreon supporter, you have a download of the full-sized artwork package to look forward to in your rewards this month! For the $10 Patrons you have full early access to the Side Character In My Own Life (Instrumentals) album today! Grab the rewards below and I hope you enjoy it:

$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/132960623

$10 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/132960630

Reward Archives: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

Find out more: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

Finally for this month, a quick round up of YouTube videos! Only a few new videos to share this time, 2 previews of the CD / Vinyl release of the new album + a tappy guitar live performance which was my entry to the UK Guitar Icon 2025 Contest sponsored by Ibanez and Laney. Doesn't look like I made the cut so far but I was pleased with the way it turned out and I hope you enjoy it too! Check out the updated playlist below:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWEmqIhrNPvQTBoOjZdKLgL4ecTvLz6sm

On top of that, I also released a rather silly video revealing that the bonus "Hearts Racing Backwards" from Side Character In My Own Life, is in fact really just "Hearts Racing" from the Two Years On album (2016) but reversed and with new words?! Check out the comparison below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M75Mu1A3DPU

That about wraps things up for this post! I've also been super busy with a super secret project I can't wait to share with you (hopefully soon), as well as working on finally setting up a mixer and patch bay for the studio! On top of that, plans are also being made to get Better Than The Book back in the LIVE scene and on the stage! More updates next time and until then, thanks as always for supporting my music and Better Than The Book and hope you're enjoying all the new tunes! Take care, all the best, keep on skankin' and if you like the new album then you know what to do: pick it up pick it up pick it up!