"Briar Rabbit's new concept album "The Great Routine!" is beautiful and cutting. Dismiss it at your own intellectual peril." - JC Brooks, (of JC Brooks and The Uptown Sound)

"I don’t know if I can think of another example in performance where passion and shame meet in such a bold way, which you articulate so well in 'Coon.' "

- Motor City Rocks Blog

"Singer-songwriters such as Briar Rabbit (Philip-Michael Scales) create sensitive, soul-searching tunes that don't activate the cheese filters. Between the intelligent lyrics and busy arrangements is delight. Yes, he's singing and strumming. Yes, you will see the words "intelligent" and "busy" and think it's some dude just showing how smart he is. Wrong."

- Kevin Williams, Chicago Tribune (Taste of Chicago) 

"Briar Rabbit is the project of Phillip-Michael Scales, who writes charming little indie pop songs that never cross the line into too-cute territory. This is sensitive, sincere music well-suited to a mix CD, if people are still making those anymore."

- Metro Mix Chicago (Top 12 for Taste 2011)

"Charming pop you want to put in your pocket."

- Matt Pais, Red Eye (Rock n Vote 2011) 

"Briar Rabbit is going somewhere. Between the obvious talents of the band– in fast-paced pop songs, slower singer-songwriter throwbacks, or in songs with orchestral movements– and Scales’s lyrics, I can’t even imagine where they’re going to be in several years."

-Katie Darby (www.katiedarbyrecommends.com

"With his distinctive brand of indie-pop garnering fans throughout the Windy City, Phillip-Michael Scales is quickly emerging as one of the most promising young talents in modern music."

- The Woodstock Indepent

Both the lead vocals and the instrumentation on Briar Rabbit and the Company You Keep have the ability to be gentle without sounding weak, and that gives the album its most powerful moments. The songs are vagabonded and yet have a solid base in the tight, live-sounding performance and production, and in Phillip-Michael's songwriting expertise.

-Windy City Rock

"All throughout Briar Rabbit and the Company You Keep, Scales invites the listener to share in his story of getting from point A to point B, which as it turns out, is one that most of us can relate to. A record played with impressive instrumental proficiency and written with a noticeable sense of earnestness, Briar Rabbit and the Company You Keep is a debut from a newly budding project that is going to surprise you with how well developed it is."

-Reviewsic

"Above all, The Company You Keep makes me set the album to repeat, engrossed in the instrumentation, intrigued by the lyrics, and excited about how else Briar Rabbit evolves."

-Made-fun.com