TOM BRISLIN

Hurry Up and Smell the Roses

tombrislin.com

Filled with smart, grown-up pop songs written and performed by a man making sense of the modern world, the debut album from this New Jersey-born, Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist is “adult contemporary” in the truest sense. Brislin has played keyboards for the likes of Yes, Meat Loaf and Debbie Harry, and here, amid classical-informed piano figures, unapologetically proggy ’80s synths, swelling strings and even snatches of Vocoder-treated vocals, he fills the heretofore-unknown space between Peter Cetera pop and Death Cab for Cutie indie. He skews more toward the former, but parents and kids will find common ground. When “Your Favorite Day” comes on, they might also share some tender moments.