4. Songs Of Green Pheasant- Songs Of Green Pheasant



What an astonishing debut! Englishman Duncan Sumpner posted this tape of songs recorded in his kitchen with indie record company FatCat but forgot to put his address on the package. The impressed executives listened to the tape and spend 15 months trying to find the musician and fortunately succeeded. For it has led to the release of this CD which sounds as unpolished and raw as the original demo and that's where the charm of this album lies.
Sumpner writes folksongs in the Devendra Banheart-way but his compositions are not as twisted and more melancholic. He layers his vocals and at times it's like hearing Simon and Garfunkel locked up in a cellar- the last part is because the sound of the tape hasn't been cleaned up and the sepia tint that graces the cover's also symbolic for the sound here. With acoustic guitar and tapeloops he colours in the edges of the folksongs. The demo-like quality of the recording is adding to the quality rather than detracting from it. Standouts are Nightfall (For Boris P) which finishes off with fiery fuzzy electric guitar, Truth But Not Fact and the final song From Here To Somewhere Else, the longest track clocking in just under 8 minutes, elegant and melancholic. I just couldn't release this CD from the player once I started listening to it. Great little album!