Like almost everyone, after 2019/20 I needed a break from most things. Grief, unemployment, self-doubt, stress, uncertainty had all been happening for a while. I was trying to make party music that was fun and hopeful, and releasing it in times that were the opposite for everyone.

During Covid I went on daily walks in local parks and forests like many, grew a massive beard, learned to cook and did a lot of press ups.
I wrote some new, quieter songs addressing life in lockdown.. that also reflected on some things that had happened that were hurriedly addressed on 'The Second Wave' album. ‘Can’t Stand Me’ & 'Leave it Alone' was written in those days.. by getting outside I was getting away from myself a bit more.

Things began to change when we moved flat. We finally gifted ourselves somewhere better to live in late 2020 if we were going to be in lockdown all the time. In a new studio room I spoke to friends for podcasts and wrote new songs that were acoustic on Emily's mini guitar that didn't really stay in tune. I tried not to write songs in overly high keys, which I’d been doing since 2010ish!

The one I felt inspired by, that i repeatedly played was 'All the Best'.
Playing this one almost felt like a re-birth of my playing, it led me to group together songs and write with an album in mind.
'All the Best' also does something therapeutic I’ve done before; address something that’d effected me hugely, in order to move on from it and see it in a different way. There's a lot of that on this album, and see also ‘Lost in Sydney’, ‘One More Thing’. ‘My Favourite Guy’.

These songs were intentionally direct and personal like the first 'Roadtrip' albums. I redrafted the lyrics repeatedly as this wasn’t a genre exercise or something written with a band, solos or harmonies in mind.

I realised I had an old song ‘Out of Love’ that was perfect for this, but in a very doubtful period, I was worried about addressing something sensitive in a song that I’d regret later (there’d been a lot of that too), that made me park the project for a few months. Later I instead re-wrote it with hindsight, and I think it’s much better and wiser for it. It’s rough here as I didn’t want to play it too much.

In terms of recording, this album once again came together slowly, I didn’t want it to, but I had no proper income making it. I could only record every now and then due to finances and becoming a dad.
It did give it time to breathe and work on it though, reconsider what to include.

Once the actual performances were done, I finished the album myself at home (‘Ledge End’) which actually felt great, I’ve become a decent enough audio engineer due to my podcast.. One thing I did know, was that I didn’t want the tracks to be drenched in reverb, like most recent pop music, and the first two ‘Roadtrip’ albums.

I’m really glad I included ‘I’m in Love with the World’ at the end. It was intended for a band country album, but makes sense here as it’s where I’m at currently with the state of the world and my life. This album is something that kept me sane in 2021-23, and a big love letter to my new family as I became a dad. x