BLOGS

Keane keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley joins the band's bassist Jesse Quin for a musical project honoring their mutual love of country music. The pair is joined by Killers drummer Ronnie Vannucci, Long Winters guitarist John Roderick, Mumford & Sons banjo player Winston Marshall and Noah and the Whale fiddler Tom Hobden for the world's latest supergroup, Mt. Desolation.

To the group's benefit, "Mt. Desolation" only loosely resembles a country album, taking subtle cues from old country, but mostly floating in the middle of Americana and pop music. The songs are generally pleasant, though most suffer for the fact they aren't particularly interesting or unique.

Album opener "Departure" sounds like the Beatles meets Billy Joel, with some lively barroom piano and David Bowie-esque vocals. "Annie Ford" follows with a Bruce Springsteen bent and a love story that ends tragically. Things get pretty bluegrassy on "Platform 7," a rollicking ode to someone back home, and "The 'Midnight Ghost'" is the country-est song on the record, a slow waltz for your next barn dance.

The album's final third is the most appealing, a gentle cooldown from bootkickers before it. "My My My" is more James Taylor folk, and "Halo of Fireflies" comes across beautifully as a campfire jam session.

As a whole, "Mt. Desolation" doesn't sound settled enough. Collaborating so many different musical minds is probably to blame. Instead of picking a theme, they tried a variety, so this "country supergroup" became sort of a "misc. supergroup" instead.

Mt. Desolation plays in support of Mumford & Sons at Seattle's Paramount Theatre Oct. 24.

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