Ah, the ‘supergroup’; a collection of huge egos fighting over the best vocal line, the loudest guitar parts and – in the case of Freebass – the best bass solo. In the past week I’ve had the misfortune to hear the Mick Jagger-fronted Super Heavy, and 80s abominations Power Station (Robert Palmer + some of Duran Duran), so when Out of Love, the record by indie supergroup Mister Heavenly found its way to me, the omens didn’t look good. Formed by Islands’ (and once of The Unicorns) Nick Thorburn, Man Man’s Ryan Kattner and Modest Mouse/The Shins drummer Joe Plummer, it’s not exactly up there in terms of household names, but the music benefits from a lack of battling egos and a large dollop of fun.

Powered by Joe Plummer’s battering drums – which also gives the record a few nods to the stylings of Modest Mouse – the band call the music “doom wop”, and there is an obvious 1950s R&B feel to many of the songs. Thorburn and Kattner divide up the vocals duties between them, and the opening track quickly identifies the approach taken by the two. ‘Bronx Sniper’ begins gently with Thorburn’s softer vocals before exploding into action with some crunching, grungy guitars and Kattner’s yelping vocals (think Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug). It’s an act of misdirection by Mister Heavenly though, as the remainder of the album doesn’t approach the same levels of apparent anger.

‘I Am a Hologram’ settles quickly into a piano-led boogie and ‘Charlyne’ mines the same vein of retro as Black Lips, and is also an amusingly pleading love song, while ‘Mister Heavenly’ maintains the high standard of tracks that follow the eponymous formula song name equals band name by being a frantic, handclap and harmony-heavy three minutes of top-notch fun.

Despite the horrific title of ‘Reggae Pie’, the song is excellent, employing the dubby rhythms of that genre, attached to Kattner’s wonky organ and unhinged lyrics: “Is it too late to say that I want you more than a man should ever admit to? / is it passé to claim that I need you more than a man should ever permit to? / I don’t care if I’m out of line, I don’t care if we’re marking time / and I don’t care if you’ll ever be mine, cos I’m yours.” It also has a gorgeously sweet bridge, showing off the harmonies this threesome is capable of producing.

There’s a sense of humour to Mister Heavenly, with the tropical and daft ‘Pineapple Girl’ telling the tale of ten-year-old girl Sarah York, who became pen pals with lunatic Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega during the height of his powers, and the swinging ‘Diddy Eyes’ which is either a song about a woman who only has eyes for Mr Sean Combs, or actually about Diddy’s eyes. It’s amusing, but not that great a track. That’s followed by the charming ‘Hold My Hand’ which could fit snugly into the soundtrack of Grease, and the brief ‘Doom Wop’ which defeats its description by being an edgy and fuzzy guitar jam.

Closers ‘Your Girl’ and ‘Wise Men’ are actual doo-wop tracks, the former being a gently swaying tune and the latter a more energetic way to end the record, hair greased back, leather jacket on and toothpick between teeth.

Out of Love isn’t a perfect record and suffers from having at least a couple of duffers (‘Diddy Eyes and ‘Harm You’) but as records by supergroups go, Mister Heavenly should be thankful that it’s not an egotistical mess. It’s a fine wee record about love, its ups and down, pitfalls and peaks – “doom wop” will never catch on as a genre, but for now it’s a welcome diversion.