Tom Brown is a indie DIY scene veteran who released a number of “fuzzy, jangly and melodic” records with his bands Rural France (on Meritorio Records) and Teenage Tom Petties (on Safe Suburban Home and Repeating Cloud). Let’s get to know his new project, Lone Striker. Captured at home using a selection of bedroom instruments and samples, off-kilter soul drum loops and found sounds, Tom has spent five years making a record that takes a lifelong love of warped Americana (think: Sparklehorse, Mercury Rev, Silver Jews) and puts it through a very British lens. A patchwork of sounds and stories, beamed from a broken transistor radio. The songs themselves are immaculately crafted. With nods to the melodies, structures and arrangements of the Brill Building golden years, Lone Striker’s scruffy, warm heart has melancholy and melody pumping through it. While Lone Striker has been a long and mostly solitary pursuit, there was room for a few guests. Most notably, Billy Fuller of BEAK>, who lends his beautiful bass lines to the weary first single, Dunno (and to Cursed Like Roy).

What Tom Says: “The tune started as a simple finger-picked thing, but once I had the trumpet sample I reworked the whole thing around it. There’s something very world-weary about it and Billy’s bass plays off that beautifully. It gives it this melodic spine that adds some hope to what is essentially a great big shrug.”

Dunno is out today, November 8th on Safe Suburban Home (UK), Repeating Cloud (US) and Hidden Bay Records (Europe). The album, Lone Striker, will follow in early 2025.