Pete Francis returns to his singer-songwriter roots on Homemade, a warm, personal collection built around family, friendship, and the simple pleasure of making music with people you trust.

The founding member of Dispatch made the album close to home in every sense. Francis recorded it at Dragoncrest Studio, tucked above his garage in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, where he spent a year working alongside co-writer and co-producer Mikey Bar-Lavi. After exploring hip-hop, electronics, and synthesizers on previous projects, Francis wanted Homemade to reconnect with the acoustic guitar-driven American music that first inspired him.

That approach comes through immediately on the title track, where acoustic guitar meets B3 organ and horns, with Francis' own dogs even making an appearance near the end. Across the album, the arrangements expand with piano, Wurlitzer, Mellotron, lap steel, banjo, strings, horns, and layers of backing vocals, while keeping the songs themselves firmly at the center.

Much of Homemade draws directly from Francis' life. "Hurricane Candle" and "On My Mind" reflect on his father, who died at 92, while "Bond Street" turns toward his children. "Finally Free" finds Francis considering where he is after three decades of making music, and "What a Shame!" brings together Afropop-inspired guitar and a punchier rock edge influenced by two longtime favorites, Paul Simon and the Ramones.

The 10-song album was largely written by Francis and Bar-Lavi, with Brian Clifford co-writing "Long Way To Fall" and "Hurricane Candle." Rather than rushing through conventional studio sessions, Francis let the songs develop gradually at home, emphasizing live playing and organic instrumentation before Grammy-winning engineer Scott Jacoby mixed the finished recordings in New York.

For an artist whose career has taken him from Dispatch to more experimental solo work, Homemade brings Pete Francis back to something fundamental: songs, instruments, family, friends, and the reasons he wanted to make music in the first place.