This first offering from Tired Pony, a country-rock supergroup including members of REM and Belle & Sebastian, is in thrall to tempestuous love affairs and the concept of flight. It's tempting, in its preoccupation with trading dull stability for romantic unrest, to read the secret desires of frontman Gary Lightbody, whose day job is with Northern Irish stadium-fillers Snow Patrol. The lyrics may court darkness, but if Lightbody fears alienating his fan-base with a radical departure, he needn't worry. Beneath the broody exterior lies a thoroughly conventional set of songs, mildly diverting but risk-free.