Sean Thompson's Weird Ears [Vinyl]

Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears self-titled full-length debut, centers the seasoned singer-songwriter/guitarist in the immediacy of the present moment. Born and raised in Nashville, Thompson cut his teeth playing in a slew of projects around the city’s rock, folk, and experimental scenes both as creative collaborator and session player, spanning from the experimental math-rock of Gnarwhal to the psychedelic country rock of Teddy & the Rough Riders, Promised Land Sound, or Skyway Man, to more recently joining singer-songwriter Erin Rae as a one-man-right-hand band. When asked about the connective throughline in his projects, Thompson doesn’t hesitate: “From Gnarwhal to now, I’ve always wanted to make something that feels alive.” Taking equal inspiration from the improvisational grooves of the Grateful Dead as well as the craft of songwriters like JJ Cale & Joni Mitchell, Thompson’s songwriting debut marks the arrival of a unique voice grounded by wide-reaching, generous ears. 2019’s acclaimed “Time Has Grown a Raspberry” EP introduced us to Thompson’s singular songwriting, with its barreling Dead-esque boogies, lived-in country rock a la Barefoot Jerry, and experimental stretch-outs in the vein of Sonny & Linda Sharrock. On the heels of its release and early in the 2020 pandemic, Thompson began meeting with longtime friends and bandmates in Teddy & the Rough Riders as well as engineer Jake Davis to safely gather with friends and jam, bringing in new material and trying it out on tape. These sessions, sometimes lasting seven or eight hours in the thrill of collaboration, would become Thompson’s debut LP. Thrumming with the electricity of players who know one another deeply, these eleven songs feature Thompson’s guitar playing at its most ripping (“New Trailway Boogie”), his improvisational ear at its most collaborative (“Instrumental Health”) and his newfound songwriting voice at its most