Of course Damon Gough knows how it looks. Ten years since his last studio album (wince). Yes, there was a soundtrack album in that period, and the Mancunian singer-songwriter does view his soundtracks as proper albums. But that was eight years ago, and the film never came out in the UK, so… (shrug).

So, yes, a decade that was, to all intents and purposes, a Badly Drawn Boy-free zone. And what a badly felt loss that was. Here was a DIY trailblazer who managed to simultaneously blaze and shamble into the music world, straight outta Chorlton, with his still-towering debut The Hour of the Bewilderbeast in 2000. A Mercury Prize-winning debut, no less.

Then, to pick some highlights from a repeatedly enthralling purple patch of creativity: the soundtrack to Nick Hornby adaptation About A Boy (from 2002, and 100 per cent A Proper Album); Have You Fed The Fish? (also 2002), which featured You Were Right, his biggest single; and the mental-state-of-the-nation epic Born In The U.K. (2006).

There are,  two quotes that inspired him to get back in the feelgood (and sometimes, sure, feelbad) saddle. One he saw written in a work space quite recently: “Please take responsibility for the energy you bring to this space.”

The other he read in Bob Dylan’s Chronicles when it came out 2004 years ago. “My grandmother said, always be good to anyone you meet because you don’t know what they’re going through.”

Out of all the darkness of the last decade, those thoughts became beacons of clarity, lights to guide his way.

“Everybody has a duty as a human being, especially in these times, to just bring something good to the table,” concludes reborn, rebooted, rebounding Damon Gough. “And if you’ve got something crap, leave it where you found it or just don’t bother. It’s as simple as that. That idea is in the chorus of I Need Someone To Trust: ‘Bring it back, make it whole.’ That’s what I’m trying to get across on this album. This is my attempt.”

For sure, a decade is a long time in pop music. It’s a long time full-stop. But when you hear Banana Skin Shoes, a towering, hard-won achievement, you have to think: it was worth it.