aaamusic | On 20, Jan 2011

Teddy Thompson – ‘Bella’
The eagerly awaited new album out February 7th

Single ‘Looking For A Girl’ out January 24th

Acclaimed singer songwriter Teddy Thompson is set to release his brand new album, ‘Bella’, on February 7th 2011 on Verve Forecast/Universal Music.

Produced by David Kahne ‘Bella’ is Thompson’s fifth album and combines lean rock and roll with lush string arrangements on material that is both disarmingly catchy and often startlingly frank. ‘Bella’ was recorded in Thompson’s adopted hometown of New York City and features accompaniment from his sterling touring band, comprising Ethan Eubanks (drums), Jeff Hill (bass) and Daniel Mintseris (guitar).

‘Bella’ contains some of Thompson’s boldest material to date. Thompson began working on the material for the album after he returned from his last tour; he structured his writing sessions by going to a Manhattan office each day where he developed these songs, honing in as a recording deadline loomed.

Throughout Bella, Thompson is a refreshingly candid Romeo. On the first single, ‘Looking For A Girl’, he lists all the qualities he wants in a woman – “I’m looking for a girl who drinks and smokes/Who takes a lot of work but can take a joke” – along with everything he needs to warn a prospective lover about.

Thompson is able to poke fun of himself on a track like ‘The One I Can’t Have’, but he can also turn more bluntly self-lacerating. On ‘Over and Over’, the starkest arrangement on ‘Bella’, he enumerates the ways he falls short as strings circle ominously around his hauntingly tortured vocal. Admits Thompson, “That’s my specialty. I love to do that. I still feel that songwriting is really an introspective thing.”

On songs like ‘Delilah’, a country-inflected slow dance, and ‘Take Me Back Again’, which boasts gorgeous Phil Spector-style production, Thompson ruminates about a romance gone wrong and contemplates the position of a guy left to endlessly yearn. This heartbreak theme reaches its apotheosis in ‘Tell Me What You Want’, a duet with friend and fellow singer Jenni Muldaur;. Thompson cajoles but Muldaur brushes him off, as twanging guitars, strings and percussion swirl around them; the vocals soar to Roy Orbison-like heights by the final chorus.

‘Bella’ follows Thompson’s stunning 2008 album ‘A Piece Of What You Need’, which Uncut called “One of the year’s most captivating records” and the Guardian “One of the year’s best”.

The single ‘Looking For A Girl’ will be released on January 24th and ‘Bella’ on February 7th.

Teddy Thompson will be touring the UK in January and February 2011.

January 2011
Tues 25th – BELFAST, Black Box
Wed 26th – GLASGOW, Celtic Connections at The Arches
Fri 28th – INVERNESS, Ironworks
Sat 29th – EDINBURGH, Queens Hall
Sun 30th – GATESHEAD, Sage

February
Tues 1st – YORK, Fibbers
Wed 2nd – LIVERPOOL, The Masque
Thurs 3rd – SHEFFIELD, Memorial Hall
Fri 4th – STOCKTON, Arc
Sun 6th – MANCHESTER, The Lowry
Mon 7th – NORWICH, Arts Centre
Tues 8th – NOTTINGHAM, Rescue Rooms
Thurs 10th – BRIGHTON, Komedia
Fri 11th – OXFORD, Academy 2
Sat 12th – BRISTOL, Thekla
Sun 13th – BIRMINGHAM, Glee Club
Tues 15th – CAMBRIDGE, Junction
Wed 16th – LONDON, Barbican
Thurs 17th – LEEDS, Cockpit
Sat 19th – BURY, Met (Solo)
Sun 20th – HOLMFIRTH, Picturehouse (Solo)
Tue 22nd – SOUTHAMPTON, Joiners
Wed 23rd – CARDIFF, Glee Club (Solo)
Thurs 24th – BRIDPORT, Electric Palace

Tickets cost £13/15/16.50 (London) and £13-15 (Regional) and are on sale now.

www.teddythompson.com