Thompson Wilson – Demos

Thompson Wilson
Demos
self-release

Canadiacana of the Very Highest Order.

Not necessarily for public consumption; well certainly not on a grand scale, Thompson Wilson only intended selling this disc at gigs; but The Rocking Magpie’s very own Canadian AR person, Lorna has come up trumps yet again. Following a recent show in Toronto, Lorna cornered young Mr. Wilson and purchased a copy for us, and you.
The seven track EP opens with the stunning Bang, Bang Boom. I could be wrong; but Wilson’s warm and dreamy voice will make ladies of all ages go weak at the knees; and with lyrics as sharp as this – ‘you won’t let me in/you won’t forget my sins’ and ‘its hard for me to stay here/when I see you every day/my heart is clenched like a fist/no matter with who I lay.’ Organ worthy of Garth Hudson and some sublime slide guitar lift make this ‘demo’ sound as good as anything coming out of East Nashville or surrounding area.
On I Came Home; Wilson’s voice sounds haggard and weary on a tale of sorrow that will tug at your heartstrings like a puppy in the rain. Yet again Wilson’s way with words is simply outstanding ‘I will see you down on James/Where this singing heart remains’ – come on ‘Singing heart’? What a brilliant phrase.
There aren’t many laughs on these tales of lost love and just loss in general; but who among us wants ‘happy songs’? Not me, that’s for sure – I love wallowing in misery; especially someone else’s.
Another stand out song is So Long; something of a truck-driving song, but one that has Wilson sounding stark and contemplative; and when he howls his rage you can actually feel the pain yourself.
One of the few up-tempo songs Cold Hearts features some sweet guitar picking and cool tsch-tsch drumming in the background; but much like in the 1970’s he-day of the singer-songwriter this song is very much about the voice and words; and both marry together like teenage lovers 40 years on.
I know very little about the 24 year old Canadian apart from he used to be in a band called Harlan Pepper, he’s written songs for Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and his Dad is Tom Wilson aka LeE HARVeY OsMOND; but these seven songs showcase a talent that won’t be in those shadows for very much longer.
Listening to these raw and emotional songs now for the fifth time in 24 hours; I wouldn’t want a producer to fiddle about with them too much. When Thompson Wilson finally goes into the studio to record them; just a thought, but someone like Nick Lowe could be the man to handle them in just the correct sensitive manner.

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