Teddy Thompson
Rosie Thomas

“As strange as it may seem, country music was the music I was brought up on,” says Teddy Thompson , whose parents are British folk-rock legends Richard and Linda Thompson . “It's the music that's closest to my heart and the music that speaks to me the most, and it's always been a big influence on my own songwriting. I was obsessed with country music when I was a kid, and it's definitely had a huge influence on the way I write songs. I was always attracted to songs that had a brilliant pun or a clever turn of phrase, but came from a dark, bitter place. As a writer, I've always gravitated towards that feeling.”

Teddy Thompson's self-produced Upfront & Down Low offers distinctive readings of beloved country classics: George Jones ' “She Thinks I Still Care,” Ernest Tubb 's “Walking the Floor Over You” and Merle Haggard 's “(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers.” Equally impressive, however, are such lesser-known songs such as Boudleaux Bryant 's regretful “Change of Heart,” the yearning  “Touching Home,” Dolly Parton 's bittersweet “My Blue Tears,” the tongue-in-cheek Bob Luman hit “Let's Think About Living” and the Elvis Presley chestnut “I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone.” The album also features a lone Thompson original, “Down Low,” whose heart-on-sleeve lyrics take on added resonance in this context.

Throughout Upfront & Down Low , the songs are supported by artful, evocative arrangements that often diverge from the material's original country milieu. Six tracks feature distinctive string arrangements by legendary English arranger Robert Kirby , renowned for his groundbreaking work with Nick Drake, while “My Blue Tears” features strings arranged by frequent Thompson cohort Rufus Wainwright.

“The whole thing started off as a fun little project rather than an album,” Thompson explains.  “And then I really started throwing myself into it and it grew into a whole other thing. I really tried to concentrate on the songs first and foremost, rather than feeling the need to use country instrumentation or make it sound like a ‘real' country record.”