Teenage Tom Petties - Rally The Tropes (2025) Hi-Res

Now that Teenage Tom Petties has morphed into a full band, let’s address the elephant in the room. Is it awkward that two of the members happen to run the labels (Repeating Cloud and Safe Suburban Home) that release Tom Brown’s music? Are we dealing with a case of DIY Stockholm Syndrome? Has Tom Brown become a nepo baby of the underground pop world?

Sure, on paper, it’s an interesting debate — but let’s be real. These aren’t industry moguls gaming the system; they’re scene builders enriching the lives of music nerds like us. And judging by how Rally The Tropes sounds, these five (Brown joined by Jim Quinn, Galen Richmond, James Brown, and Jeff Hamm) clearly had a blast recording it — in just two days, no less.

The title is tongue-in-cheek, of course, and the fact that a band named Teenage Tom Petties has a song called Teenage Thin Lizzies just makes them even more lovable. Somewhere out there, Brown is probably already promoting it to yet another musical project besides his Rural France and Lone Striker ones.

Musically, Rally The Tropes is scrappy, catchy indie rock at its best. One minute into opener American Breakfast, the “pa-pa-pa-pa”s kick in — like a friendly reminder that music should be fun. And fun it is. Songs like Faculty and Kudzu Pop blaze by, powered by classic Tom Brown choruses that somehow manage to both slow things down and lift them up.

Of course, this record won’t change the course of musical history — but that’s not the mission here. Teenage Tom Petties are here to make life sound a little better, one perfectly ragged two-minute rock song at a time. Rally The Tropes sounds great, feels even better, and is out now on LP.