Teddy Thompson – Separate Ways (2006)
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For those of us who have ’til now thought of Teddy Thompson as the least-talented member of his peer group — and that would be second-generation singer/songwriter scions, e.g. Rufus and/or Martha Wainwright, Jenni Muldaur, and Inara George, most of whom pop up on Separate Ways — his second album is a minor revelation.
Okay, so the world-weary twentysomething shtick is fairly threadbare at this point, and arguably nobody is doing it better than the aforementioned Rufus; regardless, tracks like “Shine So Bright” (download) and “Altered State” (download) do a fine job of slumping along the fine line between eye-rollingly self-important and enjoyably jaundiced.
At any rate, Ways is a helluva lot more poised — more interesting — than Thompson’s debut, and those who like some black humor with their gently memorable pop hooks would do well to sit up and take notice.
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