Songs Of Green Pheasant is one of those releases that was recorded a couple years ago, but sounds like it could have been created any time in the past thirty years. Duncan Sumpner actually recorded the release several years ago and sent the demo to Fat Cat Records, but due to a series of bad email addresses and other circumstances, it took them several years to finally reach him and agree to release the album. Recorded entirely in his kitchen on a four track recorder with a variety of different instruments (including acoustic and electric guitar, bass, drum machine, effects, and random other trinkets, every song on the release is coated with a soft haze and hiss that only adds to the mystique.

It's also one of those albums that seems to grow with each listen, and despite the somewhat limited circumstances in recording the release, Sumpner has created something that sounds truly unique and sounds a little bit like Mojave 3 mixed in equal parts with early Flying Saucer Attack. "I Am Daylights" sets the tone of the album with repeated acoustic guitar melodies and layered vocals that are all bathed in a warm reverb while a closing recorder part lifts things ever so slightly. "Nightfall (For Boris P.)" is even better, following with acoustic and electric guitar that wind around one another while soaring vocal melodies take the track to sublime places. The closing, rocking section swirls with a dreamy shimmer that puts other more high-technology artists to shame.

Other tracks bring to mind influences of UK avant folk, as even the short "Knulp" keeps things interesting with some almost random percussion and subtle changes while "The Wraith Of Loving" calls to mind the aforementioned Flying Saucer attack in more ways than one with the repeated lo-fi drum machine backdrop and multiple layers of guitar before dissolving into an almost oceanfront breeze of sprightly sounds. Really, that's one of the major strengths of the album, as even though it tends to mine similar musical territory, Sumpner keeps things interesting with small musical turns, great vocal harmonies, and inventive instrumentation (like the swirling electronic guitars, shakers and chimes in "Truth But Not Fact"). Songs Of Green Pheasant is an unexpected gem that's both rustic and psychedelic.