I could be all music biz, and pay some music personality some free drugs to write an effusive sycophantic piece that would serve as promotional material for this album. However, as I have no access to illegal drugs or indeed music personalities, I will simply present to you here, the background to this collection of ten songs...

1. Existential Crisis At the start of recording this album, I knew I needed to come up with a theme. Modern streaming has killed the concept of an album, but as I am a contrarian traditionalist, I still endeavour to produce albums as a package, so to speak. In the seventies, they all bullshitted that an album had to be a concept, but really all it involves is sticking to a theme.

As with most popular music, this is what Jeremy Paxman would criticise as being self reflecting, where I sought to explore my mental health, in times gone by. This song was not the first song written on this album, so is not some 'coming out of the traps' polemic on the topic. I reminded myself how being in anyway spiritual or philosophical in contemporary society is a weakness to be scorned. Perhaps as suggested, it is because the zeitgeist prioritises us all getting on financially.

2. Candles I grew up a Catholic, but I had first hand experience of other conflicting faiths at a formative age. When I came to the understanding of how organised religions actually operate behind the scenes, I resolved to set out my own faith based on my own life's experiences. One of the cornerstones of my belief is that our souls are an energy, and as energy can neither be created or destroyed, our souls are eternal. As such there is no overarching God or Buddha etc., but the backdrop to life is all the life that has preceded us. As the song says, "We are all angels, and angels I hold dear".

3. The Doors Another fundamental aspect of my belief is the power of communication. Another energy. You can get incarcerated in a psychiatric institution for saying you believe in telepathy, yet how is it, your pet shih tzu can look you in the eye, and instantly you know they need to have water put in their bowl? How many times have you been in a conversation and somebody else says exactly what you are thinking?

Some people play with this energy, and some use it for nefarious causes. The office is one environment where this 'celestial' gift is degraded to a tool of innuendo.

4. Psychiatric Ailment Back in '93/'94 I was in a band called "Stuffed". We never toured but we were loud and tight by virtue of our weekly 5 hour rehearsal sessions. This riff was our warm up piece. Sometimes it would go on for twenty minutes in a haze, but it always got us enthused to rock our little hearts out at maximum volume. We could be criticised for somewhat emulating the Butthole Surfers, but that wasn't intentional, nor was all the White Stripe's riffs, that Jack White would have released a decade later.

5. Drug Dealer Many people wrongly believe the doors of perception can only be opened through narcotic means, while at the same time many people take drugs to either blot out their grim reality with escapism. At this time in Ireland, the conservative majority continue to commit the marginalised poverty classes with Draconian drug laws. I will let you listen to this song and make up your own mind.

6. Debate I won't lie, I am addicted to media (social and otherwise). Like drugs, I hate myself for it. It gives me no joy, takes up too much of my time and energy and gives me mental health issues. I should it imagine it was no different pre internet, when people would develop unhealthy relationships with the news and politics. I suppose it's a symptom of giving a shit.

7. Anger This is a song for someone.

8. Major Chords And Minor Keys My father in law was a great man, and his daughter is one of the reasons my soul came to this life. He is passed on, but we still talk, and he is a wise man.

9. Dreams And Aspirations At this point in the album, I took the opportunity to bring the theme to a conclusion. Now that you have heard my side to the story, what is your personal story? This song is not about me, it is about you!

10. What Was the Point Anyway? And so I say goodbye for now, safe in the knowledge that my true love is my sanctuary from all the mental shit.