Formerly guitarist with the Beautiful South, Rotheray has recruited a veritable flock of vocalists to sing a solo debut strewn with jaunty ornithological conceits. Its best songs, however, are pensive chamber-pop. "Almost Beautiful", deftly delivered by Eleanor McEvoy, concerns Alzheimer's disease, while "The Best Excuse in the World (Is the Truth)", sung by Jack L, is about an exhausted love affair. More upbeat, folky flavours are supplied by the likes of Eliza Carthy, Kathryn Williams and Jim Causley, as Rotheray discourses on sparrows, swans, gardens, greed and life in Hull. It's a warm, collaborative affair tinged with the Beautiful South's droll humour.