Teddy Thompson Overcomes Self-Loathing And Goes Separate Ways

It's been more than five years since Teddy Thompson released his self- titled debut, but the singer/songwriter has hardly been idle.

After being dropped by Virgin after his first album, Thompson (best known to music nerds as the son of English folk-rock legends Richard and Linda Thompson) needed some time to get himself and his songs together. He moved from Los Angeles to New York and slowly began writing and recording the songs that would eventually become his newly released disc, Separate Ways.

Throughout the process, Thompson kept himself inspired by working with his parents (separately, of course) and joining the touring bands of Rufus Wainwright and Rosanne Cash. Apparently the offspring of influential roots musicians like to stick together.

"I was living in L.A. and when I was dropped from my label I almost immediately packed up and left for New York to sort of change everything," Thompson says. "It took me a while to sort of chill out and figure out what I was going to do next. And also, I didn't have any songs, so I had to write some songs.

"And I went on tour with Rufus. I just needed to do something, really. You can't really sit around and say, 'I'm going to write some songs today and they're all going to be finished for next week.'"

Listening to Separate Ways, it's clear why Thompson needed to take his time. With song topics ranging from the pitfalls of fame and narcissism ("Shine So Bright") to a series of complex lyrics about the breakdown of a relationship (hence the album's title), Thompson's writing rivals that of his parents. While the songwriter is clearly uncomfortable discussing the specifics of his compositions, he says that while they do stir up some bad feelings, he's not uncomfortable going to that place while on stage. In fact, he kind of likes it.

"It kind of conjures up a clear period of time — basically the latter half of my twenties living in New York. It's basically mostly self-loathing — the whole record. When I think about it, I just imagine it as when I got to New York, I was still feeling pretty good. And it was just a steady decline into sort of treacherous waters those few years.

"I would venture to say that I enjoy it in sort of a perverse way. And you sort of have to. If you're going to sing a song night after night, you have to find some sort of investment in what you're doing. You can't just go through the motions. So if it's a song that was written from a sad or depressing or difficult place, you obviously have to dredge some of that up. Most people who do that probably, in some perverse way, enjoy doing that. And I suppose I do, too, to wallow in that sort of sadness."