With Thompson's soulful voice, the music from 'Love Lies' draws from a variety of influences such as pop, rock and folk music. The album's title kind of sums up the theme of the record. "There's a lot of self-indulgent breakup music in there," she says.

'Blood Wedding' seems to draw from the British folk tradition. "It was inspired by the title of a Lorca tragedy," she says, "which I subsequently read only to find that the song I'd written to the same title had nothing to do with the themes of the original. Not really, anyway. Perhaps I should try to honor the author with a more pertinent homage next time."

Thompson also recorded a cover for 'Love Lies,' the George Harrison song 'Don't Bother Me,' from 'With the Beatles.' "I always wished I'd written it," she says, "and I was keen to record a version of it for a while. It's a great song."

The album, which was recorded in New York City, features Sean Lennon and Martha Wainwright as well as Richard and Teddy Thompson. "I hadn't planned on [using] them," Thompson says of her father and brother. "They both live in the States and I needed people to play on things. The best session guitarist I know is Richard, so it made sense to call him up and have him play on a few things. And Teddy lives in New York and he was there. He'd come and help out and give me his thoughts and just played on a few things. It was all very casual."

Did she sang at home with her family or took musical lessons when she was growing up? "My mother wasn't singing," Thompson says. "She was still suffering from a vocal condition until I was in my early 20s. I'd go to my dad's shows. There was no sitting around the campfire; it wasn't that kind of upbringing. I'd play along to Nirvana in my bedroom like everyone else. "

Having been influenced by artists such as Jeff Buckley, PJ Harvey and the Band, Thompson got pulled into performing when Will Oldham caught her appearance with her father on stage in London and asked her to tour with him. "I've never heard of him until he hired me," she says of Oldham, "and he sent me all his records for me to learn. It was a large package [laughs]. If someone had just given them to me anyway, I would have loved it. I was thrilled, it was a really fun moment."

Thompson is hoping to perform in the States possibly in the spring or summer. She is also collaborating with another artist, James Walbourne, as Dead Flamingoes for an EP. "I always liked to sing," Thompson says earlier in response to whether she had wanted to be a singer in her childhood. "I've kind had academic aspirations more than musical ones. It's a way you express yourself, if you write and sing. It's hard to suppress and if it grows and grows, it's difficult to ignore it. It's important to me. I couldn't really go in another direction in the end."