Midlake's Eric Pulido convoked an enthralling line-up of alt-rock ramblers for, in his own words, "poor man's Traveling Wilburys", and sets the pace with his fuzzy, psychedelic stomper Restart.
From there it's an eclectic, engaging spin: on Unlikely Force, Band Of Horses' Ben Bridwell finds his twangy croon allied with soulful piano and horns; Grandaddy's Jason Lytle's 100 Million Miles has epic orchestration and an eerie, Dr Who-esque synth; Fran Healy (Travis) goes Americana on Mind Of A Man; Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand) is Jim Morrison in a whimsical mood on oddball Hey Banana. Volume 1 lacks a certain in-the-room warmth (most of the vocals were recorded remotely), but it's a fun diversion.
