Artist: Teddy Thompson
Album: Heartbreaker Please
Label: Chalky Sounds
Release Date: 05.08.20
Teddy Thompson should really have no right to sound as upbeat as he does. To hear its jaunty opener kick in with a dose of Motown horns, you almost wouldn’t guess that Heartbreaker Please is a portrait of a relationship in the last stages of crumbling. Weighty theme and all, there’s a distinctly perverse pleasure in hearing how catchy he can be while singing lines like “there is love you must leave behind.”
Of course no one familiar with Thompson will find this a surprise. Much like his iconic parents (which we won’t dwell on here since he’s long since stood on his own), he’s disarmingly blunt about love’s pitfalls and still able to turn them into easygoing ear candy. On this particular outing, his love of the classic three-minute pop single is a central touchstone and almost always an asset. If you don’t listen too closely to the words, it could still provide a fun soundtrack to a nice Sunday barbecue.
While a couple numbers such as “At a Light” abruptly fade just when they’re starting to make an impression, he more often succeeds at using that classic format to its best advantage. These tunes keep simple songwriting smarts at the center, coating rueful disappointment and grudging it’s-for-the-best fatalism with a sweet classic soul coating to make it all go down easy. This half-hour has its fair share of jangly hooks that almost sound like oldies you’ve been hearing all your life.
The cracks show through in spots like the raw “No Idea,” where simple sorrow wins out (“I got no idea what I’m doing / I got no idea who I am”). Still, they’re outweighed by the likes of “Record Player” or “It’s Not Easy,” which coast on rhythm and brass as if there’s a sunny street parade going on just down the block. In any mode, Thompson’s plain-spoken words tap into something universal and his singing is as genuinely heartfelt as ever. Having your heart broken rarely sounds so appealing.
—Geno Thackara
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