Hearbreaker Please

"Here's the thing", Teddy Thompson sings frankly on his forthcoming 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" reckons with the breakdown of love with a wistful levity as satisfying as it is devastatingly honest. And while the album is drawn from the demise of a real life relationship, as told from Thompson's perspective, it might also be seen as a projection of his relationship with New York City, the place he has called home for the better part of 2 decades.

A member of the British musical dynasty 1st helmed by his legendary parents, Linda and Richard Thompson, he left London for the States at 18, settling in New York 5 years later. "At the time I was just taking a long vacation that never ended", he says. "I wanted to reinvent myself and it was easier to leave it behind and go somewhere new to announce myself as a musician, rather than explain to all the people who've known you since you were a kid. And you can actually reinvent yourself in America, step off the plane, say 'my name is whatever'".

20 years later, "Heartbreaker Please" finds Teddy Thompson perfectly himself, a commanding artist at the top of his craft. Chalky Sounds/Thirty Tigers, May 8th, 2020.