Teddy Thompson: Bella – review

His last LP, A Piece of What You Need , was full of finely tuned self-laceration and sharp humour, but in the three years since, Thompson seems to have blunted his edges. Opener "Looking for a Girl", a clanging personal ad of a song, has him lay out his lady criteria: "I'm looking for a girl who's good in bed/ But knows when it's time to knock it on the head" – a GSOH at play? Similarly misjudged lyrics elsewhere on Bella suggest not. It's Thompson's rich swell of a voice, including a surprisingly affecting falsetto on "Take Care of Yourself", that saves the album.