British singer/songwriter Teddy Thompson’s Heartbreaker Please is his first solo release in nearly a decade since 2011’s Bella. In between those two records, Thompson has kept busy releasing an album with his family (Linda and Richard Thompson), collaborating on the LP Little Windows with Kelly Jones, and producing several great Dori Freeman albums as well as one for Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer entitled Not Dark Yet. The premise for Heartbreaker Please came out of Thompson’s frustration with the popular music he hears today and a decision to recreate the vibe of the music he doesn’t hear anymore except in his own music collection. On his sixth solo outing, Thompson creates ten highly polished tracks of soulful, emotive pop music picking up where his last solo one left off. Album highlights include: the Motown inspired opener “Why Wait”; the bittersweet waltz “Take Me Away”; the 60’s vibed “At a Light”; the upbeat gem “Record Player”; the catchy mid-tempo number “What Now”; the stripped-down ballad “No Idea”; and the emotionally raw closing track. Teddy Thompson’s Heartbreaker Please is a near-perfect pop album that sounds timeless, memorable and fresh all at the same time. – Written by JFelton
SIMILAR | Steve Forbert, Eilen Jewell, Ron Sexsmith, Richard Thompson, Rufus Wainwright