It's a bit of a surprise to realize that it has been 20 years since a fresh-faced, confident, and talented Teddy Thompson released his self-titled debut album when he was just 24 years old. The man on 2020's Heartbreaker Please, Thompson's seventh album, doesn't sound remarkably different; his tenor voice is still clear and strong, he still isn't afraid to plead for love or look inward when it goes wrong, and his melodies are still buoyant, thoughtful contemporary folk with a rootsy accent. But Heartbreaker Please is the work of a more mature and seasoned artist, and these songs, written in the wake of a serious romantic breakup, deal with the deep ache of loneliness from a place of hard-won experience that's neither callow nor flippant. This music is rooted more firmly in R&B and country sounds than his earliest work, walking away from the pop production savvy of 2008's A Piece of What You Need and 2011's Bella. The soul horns on "Why Wait," the vintage R&B shuffle of "At a Light," and the slow, smoldering groove of "Brand New" are the reference points of an artist with a sense of history as well as an eye towards the present, and the latter song is telling in its narrative of a man who wants his life to be simple and fun again with the knowledge that isn't likely to happen any time soon. Thompson was a capable performer from the start, and Heartbreaker Please demonstrates he's improved with the passage of time, while his songwriting has also gained a depth that comes from a lived life. "No Idea" may bear a certain resemblance to "All I See" from his debut, but there's a deeper and more affecting edge to the newer song that is a superb example of how much Thompson has evolved in the two decades that separate them, and Heartbreaker Please charts that progress, simply and with an admirable clarity. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

1		Why Wait
2		At a Light
3		Heartbreaker Please
4		Brand New
5		What Now
6		No Idea
7		Record Player
8		Take Me Away
9		It's Not Easy
10		Move at Speed

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