Richard Thompson – Dream Attic (Shout Factory)

When a new Richard Thompson record arrives, you already know the songwriting is going to be a cut above – hell, several cuts above – what most tunesmiths can do. While that’s a guarantee of consistent pleasures, it also sets Thompson up to compete with himself. Sure, the album is going to be, in general, strong, but how will it stack up against his own best work?

The verdict on Dream Attic is mixed. On the one hand, for a writer as intelligent and often incisive as Thompson, the rocking financial crisis ode “The Money Shuffle” is akin to shooting at stationary waterfowl, and with the snarling “Sidney Wells” he seems to have finally run out of gas when it comes to serial killer sagas. And what’s with the pointless tribute to “Burning Man?”

On the other hand, when he’s on, he’s most definitely on. “Here Comes Geordie” is a jaunty tribute to British arrogance, while “Haul Me Up” is a rocking plea for help. “Big Sun Falling in the River” casts a mid-tempo critical eye on a failing relationship, while the slower, more haunted “Stumble On” wallows in romance’s end with declarations as “Whatever you do, love, don’t look back/You’ll only see a man whose dream is gone” – melodramatic emo bullshit from anyone else, but desultory fact in Thompson’s understated hands. “Demons in Her Dancing Shoes” takes on one of Thompson’s endless series of femme fatales (“She’s the kind of tease that means good news”) with one of the album’s catchiest tunes, while “A Brother Slips Away” sends the souls of fallen friends gently into that good night.

Recording live, Thompson duels with saxophonist Pete Zorn and violinist Joel Zifkin rather than another guitarist or keyboardist, giving his music the flavor of early 80s solo recordings like Hand of Kindness. The tracks also feature some of his most scorching, aggressive soloing – even lesser tunes like “The Money Shuffle” and “Sidney Wells” boast guitar work that would cause many professionals to retire their instruments to the storage shed for good. While Dream Attic is a mixed success at best, the good outweighs the indifferent enough that ultimately it ends up on the side of the angels.

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