LOVELY, LITTLE, LONELY REVIEW.

YIKES. It's been a while. In my defence, my final year of university has been kicking my derrière and I now have a lil' part-time job which means that any free time I have is somewhat short-lived. I love writing blog posts but for me they're a multiple-hours commitment (what with planning, writing, editing, more editing, making the graphics and all that jazz) and I just haven't had the time to really get down to writing something. Regardless, I am here right now with an album review and I'm excited to share it.

It seems like only yesterday that I was writing my very first album review on this blog. It was The Maine's 2015 release American Candy. Yet, time did that thing it does, and it took me to right here today, two years later, with a review of the band's sixth studio album, Lovely, Little, Lonely (released on 7th April). To say I was excited for the record would be a prodigious understatement. I love The Maine and everything they stand for with all of my cold-to-lukewarm heart and soul. However, this post is not supposed to be about my relentless admiration for the band as people (although let's be honest, this probably will feature fairly heavily), so how about we start with my track-by-track review?

2016 IN CONCERTS.

I've always loved taking photos at gigs. I used to sneak my DSLR into venues - sometimes even with my giant zoom lens - and never once got caught. One time I was fifth row at the Radio 1 Teen Awards and ended up with some great photos of One Direction and Taylor Swift. It seems funny now, because multiple times this year venue staff during bag-check have told me that my little Olympus E-PL7 isn't allowed because it has a detachable lens and that deems it 'professional'. (What does that even mean, anyway?) Nonetheless, because I am me, and am remarkably persuasive when I want to be, on every one of these occasions I managed to convince each staff member to let me bring the camera in regardless (mostly I exasperate them and they just give up, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do). With that, allow me to present to you some of my favourite photos from the various gigs I attended this year (fifteen in total, but only nine of them feature in this post), taken with the aforementioned ~forbidden camera~.

DOUBLE DARE REVIEW.

I haven't posted in a while but alas, I am here with an album review! Recently I've been really into the band Waterparks, who, after a few EPs, released their debut album Double Dare about a month ago. If you're unfamiliar with Waterparks I'll give you a quick rundown; they're made up of Awsten on guitar and vocals, Geoff (guitar) and Otto (drums), they originate from Houston, and they are wonderfully ambiguous in their interpretation of pop punk. Double Dare features a wide range of takes on pop punk and pop rock, infused with electronic elements and really cool lyrics. Let's just get to my track-by-track review, shall we?

USA & CANADA 2016: PART V.

Here we are - the final photos of my summer trip! After Chicago I flew to Florida, where I stayed with Marisa and her family (including three adorable dogs, one of whom is featured). Most of the photos I took in Florida are at the same beach, including a photo shoot that Marisa and I had on said beach, because what else do you do when it's raining a little and you're right next to the ocean? If you're curious, I captured the photoshoot images by setting my camera on a signpost and using my phone as a remote control. Ah, technology. After Florida I flew back to Hamilton, NJ and the very next day Steph and I took a train to Obamatown Washington D.C. We met up with our friend Jelena, who I hadn't seen since early January 2014. Jelena studied abroad at King's in my first semester of university (as did Steph) and it was so much fun to be able to hang out with her again, even if only for a weekend. We stayed with Jelena's sister and fiancé and they showed us the sights, amidst an unfortunate 100-degree (PLUS) heat. Anyway, let's hit it.

Redington Shores, FL - 02.08.16 - 12.08.16:

USA & CANADA 2016: PART IV.

My penultimate summer photos post is going to feature all of my favourite pictures from Chicago! I arrived in Chicago on the 25th July and met up with my friend Libby and we both left on the 2nd August, with one day within that spent in Milwaukee (which I posted two photos of in Part III) and one evening in Tinley Park, which is about forty-five minutes outside of the city. We stayed in a hostel in a really cute part of the city and it wasn't as bad as the previous hostel experience we had shared (I don't wanna talk about it) - in fact, I'd maybe go so far as to say I'd stay there again if I ever returned. (Maybe I'd get a private room though.) (I just really like my own space.) Contrary to what you might believe from these photos, the weather wasn't actually too great, and it rained pretty much non-stop for a few days, but hey, you get to see the nice sunny sparkly side of my trip, so enjoy it. What you don't see is the hours we spent in this one particular Dunkin' Donuts that somehow became our sheltering-from-the-rain place. (I'm not complaining, we loved our special Dunkin'.) Prepare yourself for a lot of skyscraper photos. LET'S GO.

Chicago, IL - 25.07.16 - 02.08.16: