Working with more than 60 demos, Gough eventually wound up making an album quite different than he'd originally planned.

"I started working on a new record in January of 2005, after I'd finish touring the last record," he told Billboard.com. "By the end of February I had 20 or so songs I wanted to take to the studio. For one reason or another, they just didn't work out."

"This was the first time I was confronted with failure," he recalled. "But I felt like it became a part of the process. It took me up until December (2005) to get new songs (and) new ideas together. I can write melodies real easily, but it's the lyrics that always take the longest for me."

The 13-track "Born in the U.K." offers a much fuller sound than its predecessor, 2004's "One Plus One Equals One." "(That album) was very introverted," he said. "I think this is more accessible, a bit more mainstream. I never use choruses that people could sing along to. But my personal challenge was to make something that could be accepted in a wider fan base."

Gough is currently wrapping up a short tour in the United Kingdom and will make a few appearances in select North American cities next month. "This is the longest time that I've been outside of the public domain with my music," he said. "It almost feels like a comeback."

Reuters/Billboard

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