It’s All Deep End Album: Leaping Into Life’s Depths (With a Crowd Watching)

Imagine this: a boy stands on the edge of a diving board. Below him, the pool’s water gleams, still and impossibly deep. Behind him, an audience waits, dressed to impress, sipping champagne and silently wondering, “Will he jump? Will he sink? Will he swim?”

This is the image on the cover of my new album, It’s All Deep End. It’s also a perfect metaphor for the music inside—a collection of songs that explore the vulnerability, courage, and absurdity of living under the gaze of the world. From life’s quiet triumphs to its moments of gut-punching doubt, this album is a deep dive into the human condition.

Let me take you on a journey through the themes, stories, and quirks that shaped It’s All Deep End.

The Cover: A Story Before the First Note

Let’s start with the cover.

It's All Deep End Album

That boy standing on the diving board? He’s not just a kid in red trunks—he’s you, he’s me, he’s anyone who’s ever stood at the precipice of change. The crowd behind him? That’s society, family, or even the chorus of our own doubts, watching, waiting to see what happens next.

It’s an image that speaks to the album’s central theme: life doesn’t give you time to wade in slowly. It throws you into the deep end and expects you to figure it out. Sometimes you sink, sometimes you swim, but the leap is always yours to take. That’s what I wanted this album to capture—the courage it takes to keep leaping, even when the crowd is more interested in the splash than the struggle, or outcome.

The Music: A Dive Into Life’s Depths

From the very first note, It’s All Deep End invites you to confront life’s challenges, joys, and absurdities head-on. The title track, “It’s All Deep End,” captures this perfectly, with its vivid storytelling and poignant reflection on vulnerability. It’s about the leap we all take into the unknown—and the uneasy mix of excitement and fear that comes with it.

But the album isn’t all introspection and melancholy. It’s also got moments of humour and whimsy, because life is nothing if not absurd. Take “Purple Elephants,” for instance—a surreal journey through a candy-coated dreamscape where marshmallow clouds and roller-skating pachyderms reign supreme. It’s a playful reminder to embrace silliness, even when life feels heavy.

Then there’s “Death’s Seaside Break,” which imagines Death himself taking a holiday on Brighton Beach. Ice cream in hand, Death observes humanity with a mix of curiosity and newfound respect. It’s a whimsical tale, yes, but it’s also a meditation on the beauty of life’s fleeting, simple moments.

I love visiting Brighton, a 40 minute drive from my house, and it was the obvious setting for a seaside break.

The Shadows We Carry

Life isn’t always about leaps of faith or seaside strolls, though. Some of the album’s most poignant tracks wrestle with the weight of legacy and loss.

• “Weight of These Shadows” is an exploration of how the past shapes us, for better or worse. It’s about the ghosts we carry—family expectations, old regrets, and the echoes of decisions we can’t undo.

• “Forty-Five Years” is a sobering tale of ambition and sacrifice, told through the eyes of someone looking back on a life spent chasing success. It’s a cautionary reminder that time is our most precious currency, and how we spend it matters more than any title or accolade.

Both songs speak to the quiet, heavy moments of life, the ones where we reflect on where we’ve been and wonder if we’ve gotten it right.

Finding the Why

Existential questions loom large on this album. In “Where’s the Answer to My Why?” I grapple with the big, unanswerable questions that keep us all up at night. Why are we here? What’s the point? Why does my coffee always go cold before I finish it? (Okay, maybe more hot chocolate than coffee... But you get the idea.)

And then there’s “Wake Up Call,” which takes a different approach to these questions.

Instead of asking why, it shouts, “What are you waiting for?” This track is a rallying cry for anyone stuck in complacency, delivered with the kind of tough love that stings at first but ultimately gets you moving.

The Legacy of Words

I’ve always been fascinated by the power of language, and that fascination shines through in “Words of Wisdom.” This song is my love letter to the poets and writers who’ve shaped how we see the world. From Yeats to Shelley to Carroll, their words have stood the test of time, offering insight and inspiration long after they were written. It’s a reminder that stories—whether in song, poem, or prose—have the power to connect us across generations.

Why This Album Matters Now

Life isn’t just one thing. It’s not all joy, all sorrow, or all absurdity—it’s a tangled mess of all three, often at the same time. That’s what It’s All Deep End is about. It’s an album for anyone who’s ever felt the weight of expectations, the sting of loss, or the quiet joy of finding beauty in the chaos.

Whether you’re confronting your own shadows, dreaming of marshmallow skies, or trying to make sense of life’s big questions, this album is here to remind you that you’re not alone. Life may be a deep end, but it’s one we’re all swimming in together.

Dive In

It’s All Deep End is available now on all major streaming platforms. I hope these songs resonate with you, make you laugh, or help you feel seen. Whatever your journey, I invite you to take the leap and see where the music takes you.

Stream the album here: https://open.spotify.com/album/6TRdpd4bQ4y0yC5ZeqbhTX?si=XVFaxL75QryZUp55FvEBsg

Let me know your favourite tracks, your thoughts, or even your own deep-end moments. Because at the end of the day, this album isn’t just my story—it’s yours, too.

See you in the water.