Tom Brousseau
(Fat Cat)
When you call your record Posthumous Success irony is obviously your songwriting friend. And finding Dave Grohl, Vincent Price and Proust wandering through dream-like, heart-rending narratives with comic kick is telling, too -- but then mordant wit is Tom Brosseau's gift and cross. Billed as a huge stylistic shift from his bare-boned past, this time the Grand Forks' expat embellishes his witty fare in striking arrangements of whirring synths and electric guitars, even turning up the heat and pace to a near-boil on "Big Time" and the overly distorted "You Don't Know My Friends."
Mice Parade's Adam Pierce produced and drummed, the latter abetting the occasional thunder. Brosseau even adds four lyric-less interludes to successfully vary the skyline. But even if the stories occasionally tilt in-jokey, they're still the draw. Brosseau tells us as much when he warbles almost apologetically on "Axe & Stump" that he's "got an evil eye and a matching wit." Let us just forgive and enjoy.
Standout Tracks: "Favorite Color Blue" and "Wishbone Medallion" JOHN SCHACHT
