Mt. Desolation

Mt. Desolation took shape as the country-tinged side project of Keane members Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin, who first mapped out the band while pausing between Keane’s road dates. Several months of demo work followed before the pair stepped into a studio at the beginning of 2010, bringing along additional musicians for the sessions. Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. of the Killers, Tom Hobden of Noah and the Whale, and Country Winston of Mumford & Sons all took part. The ensemble began performing several months afterward, scheduling a limited run of dates in England and North America once Keane finished its summer tour, and Island Records issued the self-titled debut before the year’s autumn had closed.