Produced and recorded by the singer at home, In the Late Bright displays the full range of Tommy’s song craft over 11 tracks. Opening with the sound of the Baldwin Fun Machine—a supremely cool and cheesy 60s family entertainment center/organ that has become Tommy’s keyboard of choice in recent years—the album kicks into high gear with “Late Bright,” a minor key rocker that gets its tense and dramatic work done in two minutes flat.

From there on out the album delivers a fan-friendly collection of melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, inventive chord progressions and great guitar playing. But there are a few surprises as well. In the Late Bright features the first full-length Keene instrumental, “Elevated,” which suggests that those Jeff Beck and Ronnie Montrose records in his collection have made an impact. There is also the ballad “Save This Harmony.” While Tommy has never been averse to slowing down the tempo, the song’s backing track of keyboards and loops, courtesy of co-producer R. Walt Vincent (Pete Yorn, James Blunt), is a departure from Tommy’s usual live band-oriented approach.