Sleep, the debut album from shadowy Londoner
Tom the Lion offers up 12 intricate slabs of meticulously arranged D.I.Y. indie pop that flirt with the mainstream from the relative safety of the shore. His soulful croon, which falls somewhere between
Arcade Fire's
Win Butler,
Beirut's
Zach Condon, and
James Blunt, fits right in with the current crop of moody English pop purveyors like
Tom Odell,
Alt-J,
Eugene McGuinness, and
Wild Beasts, and he possesses enough pop acumen to deliver some real swoon-worthy moments. The sweeping title cut swings effortlessly between its staccato, fog-bound verse and opulent chorus, the bluesy and soulful "Beholden" impresses with its deft juggling of light and dark textures, and the curious "Ragdoll," with its sparse arrangement and evocative lyrics, reveals what could be construed as a closeted librettist peeking his head out from behind the fussy confines of radio-pop architecture. ~ James Christopher Monger