The last few songs I have recorded have taken me on a journey of discovery.  I so often in the past banged on about how the perfect song should be short, sharp and sweet to the ear.  But recently I have been on a mission to create long epic works with the aim of putting the essence of a stage musical into the boundaries of an indie rock song.

This new direction has taken me via landmarks such as Perhaps I’ll Kill You, The Calm and the Storm and Life Will Be the Death of Me.  And I’ve enjoyed every minute of those songs… and we’re talking about 19 minutes with just those three songs.

My youth in music was built upon the desire to write that perfect pop song.  That perfect rock song.  That perfect punk rock song.  Although perfect is probably too extreme a word, I do believe that I have on more than one occasion produced songs of true worth in that ballpark.  Songs that could have been written by Blur… or the Buzzcocks… or etc etc… but were actually written by me.

I now unveil ACTION HERO! .  This song is the beginning of a new phase in my time as Confession of the Whole School.  It is the start of something new… something that may throw even those of you who have listened to everything up to this point.  I am still yet to officially release All Monsters and Dust, but I wanted to keep you up to date with exactly what I have been doing.  It is after all only fair that I keep you guys involved every step of the way.  It is you that are staying the course by logging into this site and reading my drivel!!!

This new song is going to be on the next Confession of the Whole School album.  Believe me, this next album’s scope is going to be far beyond anything I’ve ever attempted before!  The new song ACTION HERO! has already been compared to Bohemian Rhapsody, Paranoid Android and various other epic works of music.  These compliments do of course make me over the moon, and while I accept that, for me, the song is nothing but another of my songs… flattery will always get you somewhere.   Who wouldn’t want comparisons with greatness!  Ha ha!  This song is setting the stage beautifully for everything I have to come.  You see, I just can’t stop.  I know I should be concentrating on promoting All  Monsters and Dust… but I just can’t stop writing at the moment.  I feel that when I’m like this (which I haven’t been for ten years!) I really shouldn’t stop.  I should just exhale.  Let the music spill out.  So that when the time comes that I have no music left to give I can look back and realise that I accidentally recorded a hundred albums along the way.  Okay… a hundred would be unachievable and an exaggeration… but it’s the spirit that counts.  I believe I have so far recorded three albums of genuine worth.

1) Alexi in Winter – Out of the Low Times

2) Confession of the Whole School – All Monsters and Dust

2) The Eleventh Hour – Escapism

(I am ignoring countless demos and obscure singles)

I believe that in amongst those albums are songs of value.  Complete artistic merit.  Complete cohesion (unlike this post which is veering wildly through the years and the subjects).

And I have a title already for the next album.  I won’t leak it yet! 😉  But I’ll let you into a little secret (which, okay, I may have mentioned in a previous post).   The next album is gonna be a concept album.  Not a twee, silly story concept album – but a concept album that ties in with the themes I have already explored on previous songs.  I’m just gonna step it up a gear.

Anyway… here’s ACTION HERO! .  Let me know what you think!