Songs of Green Pheasant
Songs of Green Pheasant
( Fat-Cat ) 2005
Writers, critics
and/or fucking morons really need to get a tad more creative when scanning
the press sheet for Songs of Green Pheasant - an extremely
well-knit selection of songs from an amazing find (there is a tale out there) named Duncan
Sumpner. His Fat-Cat bio even reads "A lazy ear might
peg the album down as another in an ever-burgeoning line of modern folk
releases". I adore Iron & Wine, Sam Beam and his perfectly
shaped beard as much as anyone - but to state "he sounds like Sam
Beam" is a cop-out and superior injustice to what Sumpner has dedicated
to 4-track in his kitchen.. . over three years ago. I'm guessing
the guitar and human voice have been teaming up for well into six centuries.
 Consisting
of a core acoustic and voice formula, stray hints of tambourine and
static psych (see: "nightfall") and oft percussion (see: "hey,
hey, wilderness") are captured in the mix giving Songs
of Green Pheasant a bit of
a lead on the common "folk" tag. Albums and artists that may
come to mind while falling in love with this album are Kingsbury
Manx (in the instrumentation) , the My Morning Jacket (Jim
James) demos from At Dawn (in the vocal reverb) and Fridge-gone-acoustic
project Adem (Homesongs which, by chance,
was also recorded "mid-fi" in a home environment). Dig an
inch deeper and a lazy writer could link Green Pheasant to
The Green Man Festival.. . Green Lantern anyone?.
Play
it for days and fall under the spell that's cast in just over a half
hour. We've seen it evolve before, and I hope we hear it again - if
a record can be this grasping from home tapes, the realized output of
a studio album should strike with equally memorable results. We'll dedicate
this third 'thumb's up' to the albums artwork
(Mikal
Dyas) and lettering
- a series of haunting relief etchings rooted in folklore that echoes
Songs entire essence.
"
Problem is, it lasts all of ten minutes, after which similar highlights
are kept to brief intervals, each dulled by the sameness of every track.
" [ CMG - September 7, 2005
]
"..
.only problem is an excess of understatement bordering on musical timidity."
[ No Ripcord - August 10, 2005; Also
a clear example of retyping a bio
and not reviewing an album - near verbatim. ]
There
are actually no problems with Songs of Green Pheasant
- there are indeed problems with listeners who are handed the power
to pick apart a great debut album and post thoughts to the masses (sure,
maybe I'm in the wrong). Lets be less involved as to
how Sumpner recorded these songs, or the backwards math that we can
trace to his kin. What really matters at the end of Songs is
how and when we're going to find anything else that can match the texture
and beauty it just dealt us. That's a tough one. It's mesmerizing albums
like Songs of Green Pheasant that creep into the American system
late in the year that can instantly skew the "best of" list
you have been compiling for 11 months.
:
kaleb
:: (10.24.05) 
In
further admiration and ramble, the brilliant lyricism
on Songs Of Green Pheasant could easily slip by if not paid
close attention. Sumpner (and likely his self-production "technique")
lays his vocals far below the acoustics, and the reverb can't help but
wash the meanings out of recognition. Take "Hey, Hey, Wilderness"
for example - ending the track with what leaves the listner open to
their own finalization: "Out of the car
window now / The rays of light touch the backs of the trees
/ My mind gives me one final thought". This is
a very special release that will certainly keep SOGP on my watch station
for months to come.
Extra
Extra Credit: Duncan originally worked under the name Kayak
for the earliest incarnation of what has evolved to be Songs. My
thanks eternally for any it ever making it to me. |