Mt. Desolation (album)

Mt. Desolation
Studio album by Mt. Desolation
Released	18 October 2010
Recorded	January 2010
Genre	Country music
Length	49:05
Label	Island/Cherrytree/Coop
Producer	Emery Dobyns
Singles from Mt. Desolation
"Departure - State of Our Affairs" Released: 18 October 2010 "Bitter Pill (US/Canada only)" Released: 15 September 2010

Mt. Desolation is the debut studio album by English alt country duo Mt. Desolation, 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 and Jesse Quin. The album leaked to the Internet on October 11, 2010.

Track listing

• All tracks written by Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Departure"	3:37
2.	"Annie Ford"	4:21
3.	"Bridal Gown"	4:57
4.	"State Of Our Affairs"	4:39
5.	"Bitter Pill"	4:07
6.	"Another Night On My Side"	3:01
7.	"Midnight Ghost"	5:05
8.	"Platform 7"	3:34
9.	"My My My"	3:49
10.	"Coming Home/Halo Of Fireflies"	11:55
11.	"Pushed Around" (Amazon MP3 and 7Digital UK exclusive bonus track)	3:31
12.	"Wherever You Were Going" (iTunes exclusive bonus track)	2:51
Total length:		49:05

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 and Noble version of the album includes 2 bonus tracks, "Emily" and the demo for "Bitter Pill".
• The iTunes version has "Wherever You Were Going" listed as track 11.
• The Amazon MP3 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 hasn't been officially released.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

The album was met with generally favourable reviews, with the Guardian 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 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, and argumenting that "Mt. Desolation’s self titled first album is 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."

Chart performance

Chart (2010)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart[2]	140
US Billboard Heatseekers Albums[3]	10

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ "Chart Log UK: M - My Vitriol". The Official Charts Company. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_M.HTM. Retrieved 9 June 2011. 
3. ^ "Mt. Desolation Album & Song Chart History - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/mt-desolation/chart-history/1529895. Retrieved 9 June 2011.