Teenage Tom Petties and Rural France’s Tom Brown releases the first record under his solo moniker, Lone Striker. Five years in the making, this self-titled album was recorded at Tom’s home using a selection of bedroom instruments, wobbly doo-wop samples, off-kilter drum loops and found sounds.
‘Blip One’ opens the record with a Sparklehorse sound and spoken-word sample before Tom offers himself advice: ‘Control your shit, it’s just a blip, like every other time before’. ‘Dunno’ follows this with a burst of brass and MJ Lenderman-style sadpop ramblings: ‘I can’t think about tomorrow if the past is going to be so cruel’.
‘The Cavalry’ is a three-minute pop song that reminded us of Paul Heaton in its opening moments, but combined with the warped Americana sensibilities you’d expect from Silver Jews or Grandaddy. ‘Never Blown a Kiss’ has more of a baroque feel as Tom recalls a love that is expiring: ‘I blew a family Christmas apart’. ‘Cursed Like Roy’ has the songwriting sensibilities of ’60s pop-rock, albeit with a touch of regret – ‘I never really had a shot’ – while ‘Pinocchio’ opens with the famous ‘I got not strings’ line before moving into an alt-folk area with stomping chants and a dose of self-depreciation.
‘Holiday Cigarettes’ finds Tom lamenting the end of a holiday and putting his cigarettes back in a drawer against an Albert Hammond-style backdrop. ‘Cling’ is more understated but quietly powerful in its approach to love: ‘I’m the guy you married, why not cling to that?’ ‘Hurry Up, You’re Taking Forever’ continues in the slower sadpop vein, with words that are just as compelling: ‘Hurry if you’re taking forever. Hurry if you’re taking your time. Hurry if you’re taking an age to say you’re no longer mine’.
‘Blip Two’ opens with an ode to breakfast before moving onto something more defiant: ‘You’re not fooling anyone, staring down an empty gun’. It’s a stop-start treat with a little cinematic flourish to finish the record.
Lone Striker hits the target with this album.