Don't let the good manners, pretty melodies and folk legacy fool you. Teddy Thompson - son of legendary couple Richard and Linda - is a seething ball of malcontent. Happiest casting a resentful eye over past relationships or taking a self-loathing look at himself, his lack of success is a new vein of bitterness. "Widely ignored by the general public," is how he describes his eponymously titled debut album, released in 2002, "which is why it's critically acclaimed now. Good luck finding it."

Having failed to set the world alight, Thompson's music, country-tinged and achingly lovely, now boasts heavy rhythms and rock-guitar chords that scream of his desire for mainstream success. Playing acoustic guitar and backed by a four-piece band, Thompson sinks his teeth into the MOR Americana of I Should Get Up, from his latest album Separate Ways. His eyes closed as his rich, slightly twangy, deliberately trembling, voice swells. It's a little like watching Thom Yorke cover a Sheryl Crow song, his intensity at odds with the uncomplicated, commercial sound.

It's his British cynicism that saves him. I Want It Over's warm melody floating over the bitterest of break-up sentiments, Shine So Bright poking green-eyed fun at his own hopes for stardom. When he ditches the rock in favour of stripped-back introspection, all hints of cosiness vanish. His voice turns spine-chilling, especially on the haunting Brother Can You Spare a Dime.

Ironically, for a child of famous parents, his relationship with them is the one part of Thompson's life that isn't pulled apart. When his dad joins him on stage for a spot of classic guitar noodling during No Way To Be, they even hug.