Richard Thompson’s last three studio albums have been a laugh – more Doom and Gloom From the Tomb, but with a focus on the joy of making a racket to match his late mid-2000s live shows. His Electric Trio has seldom went unaccompanied on record but the joy they take in each other’s playing is contagious, and the solos take the top of your head off so fast that I’ve sometimes wondered whether the band were trying to get the approval of Emily Dickinson’s ghost.
These albums have come out in the same period as a trio of recordings where Thompson has played classics from across his career on the acoustic guitar. It would be easy to dismiss these as cash-ins or nostalgic novelties but seeing the man touring Acoustic Classics 2 was a lesson in how much racket one beret-wearing pensioner can make.
Recorded in Thompson’s home studio during lockdown, Bloody Noses makes this point again and acts as something of a bridge between these two sides of Thompson’s recent career. ‘If I Could Live My Life Again’ sees Thompson muting a simple rock and roll riff so it sounds extra shady before shredding in a way that provoked one of the two Marnie Stern head nods I’ve managed since Marnie Stern last made an album (the other was brought on by the Fiona Apple track that also prompted a headline-worthy high school reunion). ‘The Fortress’ rides its locomotive rhythm through a lifetime’s disappointment (”You were bound to fall”), while the verses of ‘What’s Up With You?’ sees Thompson bashing the hell out of a three chord riff like he’s just worked out how to play it.
PICK THREE
The other half of the EP is more subdued but never lowers itself to being merely tasteful. Most of 2021’s Serpents Tears sees Thompson stick to the same register, but with a better hit rate. The one rocker, ‘When The Saints Rise Out of Their Graves‘ is enough to make wish for another full band record and tour.
Blue Box // Recorder 