Tom Brosseau is on to something new by way of something old - deep, heartbreaking, and entirely worth hearing.

Ostensibly a collection of highlights from his recorded history to date, augmented by several new recordings, ‘Empty Houses Are Lonely’ works as a fine introduction to Tom’s plaintive, eloquent, timeless music.

The ingredient in this mix that will flat out give you chills is Brosseau's voice, which sounds eerily like a high-lonesome reincarnation of Jeff Buckley. High, limber and sometimes vibrato-tinged, it seems to hover between the masculine and feminine. His playing elicits a hushed reverence from admiring listeners blessed with the intimacy and emotional immediacy of his live performances. His songs have the quality of an intimate conversation at the next table that you just can't pull your ear away from. He can be hauntingly moody and atmospheric, and avoids the typical garden-variety verse-chorus-bridge song structures in his writing. Tom Brosseau is on to something new by way of something old - deep, heartbreaking, and entirely worth hearing.