''Mt. Desolation'' is the debut
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by English
alt country
Alt or ALT may refer to:
Abbreviations for words
* Alt account, an alternative online identity also known as a sock puppet account
* Alternate character, in online gaming
* Alternate route, type of highway designation
* Alternating group, mathema ...
duo
Mt. Desolation
Mt. Desolation are an English band formed by Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin, members of the rock band Keane (band), Keane, as a side-project. Their Mt. Desolation (album), self-titled debut album was released on 18 October 2010.
The live band co ...
, released on 18 October 2010 in the United Kingdom and on 19 October 2010 in the US. This is the first album by the side project of the band
Keane's
Tim Rice-Oxley
Timothy James Rice-Oxley (born 2 June 1976) is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, singer and songwriter of the pop rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane bandmate Jesse Quin. ...
and
Jesse Quin
Jesse Joseph Quin (born 3 September 1981) is an English multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer best known as the bass player of the British pop rock band Keane. Jesse also founded and runs an arts centre on an abandoned U.S. Air ...
.
Track listing
* All tracks written by
Tim Rice-Oxley
Timothy James Rice-Oxley (born 2 June 1976) is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, singer and songwriter of the pop rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane bandmate Jesse Quin. ...
and
Jesse Quin
Jesse Joseph Quin (born 3 September 1981) is an English multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer best known as the bass player of the British pop rock band Keane. Jesse also founded and runs an arts centre on an abandoned U.S. Air ...
Bonus songs
Most pressings of the
CD only include 11 songs ("Halo of Fireflies", hidden after "Coming Home", is not listed on the back), however some extra songs have been released, either on special pressings of the CD, or digitally.
* The
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
version of the album includes 2 bonus tracks, "Emily" and the demo for "Bitter Pill".
* The
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
version has "Wherever You Were Going" listed as track 11.
* The
Amazon MP3
Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights man ...
version has "Coming Home" and "Halo of Fireflies" listed as two separate tracks, and includes "Pushed Around" as track 12.
* The song "Your Kind of Life" is part of the live setlist of most Mt. Desolation gigs, but has not been officially released.
Reception
The album was met with generally favourable reviews, with ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' thinking of it, when compared to
Keane's ''
Night Train'', as a "more convincing vehicle for their undisputed melodic gifts" and citing "Bitter Pill" as a highlight.
BBC Music
BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network.
Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...
called the production "fittingly delicate and unfussy, with no oppressive effects" and commented on the singer's voices, saying "Rice-Oxley and Quin
..both sound a little shy", but welcoming the "intermittent, effortlessly harmonising female vocals".
Virgin.com, however, wasn't as enthusiastic, giving the album a 6 out of 10, describing their self-titled debut as "a mixed bag of charming country inspired tunes and hard to take seriously line dancing tracks", before adding that "the self gratifying love for the music that has been created makes this collaborative country collection well worth a listen despite the odd rogue."
Personnel
Mt Desolation:
*
Tim Rice-Oxley
Timothy James Rice-Oxley (born 2 June 1976) is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, singer and songwriter of the pop rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane bandmate Jesse Quin. ...
- vocals, piano, synths, composition
*
Jesse Quin
Jesse Joseph Quin (born 3 September 1981) is an English multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer best known as the bass player of the British pop rock band Keane. Jesse also founded and runs an arts centre on an abandoned U.S. Air ...
- vocals, lead guitar, composition
Support musicians:
*Fimbo – drums
*
Jessica Staveley-Taylor – backing vocals, acoustic guitar, piano
*John-William Scott – bass, guitar
*Phil Renna – fiddle, keyboards
Guest artists:
*
Ronnie Vannucci
Ronald Vannucci Jr. (born February 15, 1976) is an American musician, best known for being the drummer for the rock band the Killers. Vannucci is also involved in a side project called Big Talk, and became the drummer of the Rentals in 2018.
...
- drums, guitars, vibes
*
"Country" Winston Marshall - banjo
*Charity Quin - backing vocals
*Jayne Rice-Oxley - backing vocals
*Francois Deville - pedal steel
*Andrew Lowe – bass
*
John Roderick – backing vocals, guitar
*Pete Roe – keyboards, backing vocals
*Tom Hobden – fiddle
Chart performance
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Desolation (album)
2010 debut albums
Mt. Desolation albums
Keane (band)
Island Records albums
Cherrytree Records albums