“Here’s the thing,” Teddy Thompson sings frankly on his new album, “you don’t love me anymore. I can tell you’ve got one foot out the door.”
From its opening track Thompson’s new album 'Heartbreaker Please' (out April 24 on Thirty Tigers) reckons with the breakdown of love with a wistful levity as satisfying as it is devastatingly honest. The album is drawn from the demise of a real-life relationship set against the backdrop of New York City, the place he has called home for the better part of two decades. A member of the British musical dynasty first helmed by his legendary parents, Linda and Richard Thompson, he left London for the States at 18, settling in New York five years later. Twenty years later, 'Heartbreaker Please' finds Teddy Thompson perfectly himself, a commanding artist at the top of his craft.
On 'Heartbreaker Please' Thompson incorporates elements of 60’s doo wop, 'Record Player' and 80’s synth sounds on the epic 'No Idea' but his first musical love is still rock n’ roll, country and pop. The songs are undergirded by references to someone else doing the heart-breaking, which is a departure for Thompson. “I’m usually the one who does the heart-breaking! A defence mechanism of course, but all of a sudden I was the one on the back foot. I was the “plus 1”, and I admit, I didn’t deal with it very well. But also, don’t date actors!” The relationship ended as Thompson was finishing writing the songs that would become 'Heartbreaker Please'. “I tend to write sad songs, slow songs - it’s what comes naturally,” says Thompson, “So I tried to make an effort here to set some of the misery to a nice beat! Let the listener bop their heads while they weep.”
The effect pays dividends on 'Heartbreaker Please'. There are the beautiful ballads that Thompson has become known for, the string laden 'Take Me Away' and the stunning 'Brand New' but there’s also the toe tapping 60’s vibe of 'Record Player' and the Eddie Cochran-esque 'It’s Not Easy'. There may be sadness but there’s also hope, humour and even, a beat.
Over 14s only. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.
Presented by Regular Music
(Teddy Thompson)“Who do I sound like? I think I sound like myself! There’s a strong element of British folky in me, it’s in the blood, and I heard the wonderful music of my parents around me as a young child. Then there was the 1950’s American pop and country that I fell in love with, plus the 80’s pop music that was in the charts at the time.”
You might also like...
Teddy Thompson