Tommy Keene

Called "one of America’s greatest, unheralded songwriters” by Rolling Stone, Tommy Keene is a bloodied but evidently unbowed veteran of the rock’n’roll trenches. Crashing the Ether, Keene’s tenth album but first in four years, is an instant power pop classic, and an invigorating blast of sunshine that belies Keene’s exhaustive 30-year trek through the music biz shadows. Pop-tastic opener "Black & White New York” features Teenage Fanclub harmonies over Phil Spector drums, while the timeless jangle of "Warren in the ’60s” evokes the twin power pop towers of Big Star and the Byrds with knowledgeable authority. Although at one time a major label solo artist (two albums for Geffen in the late ’80s), Keene’s tasteful guitar playing and considerable vocal skills have also found him work as a sideman throughout his career; among his ex-employers is Paul Westerberg, who would no doubt approve of the ragged, Replacements-esque "Eyes Of Youth,” while current boss Robert Pollard (Keene is a guitarist and keyboardist in Pollard’s latest post-Guided By Voices touring band) will find much to like in the hi-fi GBV of "Wishing.” In short, Crashing the Ether is a surprising and unexpected gem from one of rock’n’roll’s great unknowns.