For the fourth entry of songs that I feel are well suited for fall, I return to the musical theme from my first post: The supergroup comprised of on-loan alt-rockers going alt-country.

Tired Pony is the brainchild of Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody, who initially announced his countrified desires in 2009. Iain Archer and Tony Stewart from the extended Snow Patrol family joined Lightbody’s side project, as did Richard Colburn (Belle and Sebastian), Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows, The Minus 5, R.E.M.), and Garret “Jacknife” Lee (whom you might recognize as the producer of recent releases by U2, Snow Patrol, and R.E.M.). Tired Pony also corralled contributions from Tom Smith (Editors), actress/singer Zooey Deschanel, and M. Ward.

As was true for Mt. Desolation’s finished piece, Tired Pony’s album, The Place We Came From, turned out more country-tinged than cowboy country. Recorded during a weeklong residence in Portland, Oregon, the pacing, tone, and acoustic instrumentation of the various tracks are best categorized as Americana. Anyone care to trace the UK’s recent fascination with such sounds?

Tired Pony often suggests what an unplugged, stripped-down version of Snow Patrol would sound like, mostly because Lightbody’s emotional baritone is out in front for both. Try as I did, I couldn’t land on just one song to spotlight here, as so much of The Place We Came From is spot-on for this fall thematic. Instead, I’ve narrowed it down to two selections, “Dead American Writers,” the first single, which has a proper, if a bit uncomfortable-to-watch video, and “Held In The Arms Of Your Words,” a nearly seven-minute wonder. On the album, these two tracks are sequenced back to back:

Tired Pony isn’t the first supergroup Gary Lightbody has assembled, nor the biggest. In 2001, he formed The Reindeer Section with 47 fellow musicians from 20 different Scottish bands, including members of Belle and Sebastian, Arab Strap, Teenage Fanclub, and Mogwai. The Reindeer Section has issued two albums thus far — 2001’s Y’all Get Scared Now, Ya Hear! and 2002’s Son of Evil Reindeer — with the lineup somewhat shifting for each.

Purchase Tired Pony – The Place We Came From via iTunes or Amazon MP3, where it’s currently a mere $4.99.