This album is what some might expect from a middle-aged man with a lengthy career in music: the type that corners you in the pub for a lengthy soliloquy about Nick Drake. Earnest, good manners, always gets his round in, and quite obviously has little need to take any musical chances. The fact that Selway is the drummer from Radiohead, a band critically-adored for their experimentation, adds nothing much to the mix other than some famous, equally earnest friends (Glenn Kotche and Pat Sansone of Wilco, Lisa Germano, Sebastian Steinberg of Soul Coughing. And on the first few tracks at least there are some interesting percussive elements which sadly seem to peter out after awhile, being replaced by well-crafted, personal, tunefully sung, stripped-down acoustic songs (which do feel a little plain to be honest). You can tell Selway has put his soul into this, his lyrics echoing his Phil Mitchell-ish looks, all about ‘fammmilly’ and that. The vocals are high in the mix (with a falsetto to rival Thom Yorke’s on ‘Beyond Reason’) giving the songs an intimacy and warmth. Some delicate instrumentation (euphonium, flugelhorn, drums like the beat of moth wings against the window, tumbling piano) colours it a shade above chino-beige, and Germano lifts the songs she guests on with some angelic coos (‘By Some Miracle’, ‘The Witching Hour’). It’s pleasant, it’s OK, it’s achingly sincere, it’s just not very exciting. Described as sitting alongside Bella Union’s other acts (Midlake, Fleet Foxes etc) ‘with the emphasis very much on song’ may ring true; but the lack of pulsing melody is too obvious, it is just workmanlike malady. No witty words, just hackneyed verbs; no unexpected weirdness or trailblazing ideas (that we have learnt to expect from his day job); just a nice, simple set of songs. TC