In the wake of 2005 most of the material was written for 'The Retreat' but a creative block held things back. But after a short retreat to Seahouses, Northumberland the songs had now been written. There was a change of pace and maturity to his way of writing songs. With the help of fellow talented musicians ; Mark King - Bass, Steve Nelson - Keys, Holly Atterton - Vox, Patrick Rudge - Drums the album was set for recording in late 2005 and was finally completed January 2006. The album carries beautifully acoustic written songs with an eclectic mix of genres running through it. It's approach has a very down to earth british feel with undertones of Americana type guitar styles. Deacon Blue meets Counting Crows Folk/Country/Pop/Rock throughout.