Songs of Green Pheasant Gyllyng Street

• Words: Patrick Sisson
• Label: FatCat
• XLR8R Rating: 7/10

Reveling in isolation–rather than rejecting it–the music of Duncan Sumpner, or Songs of Green Pheasant, has always exhibited a stark beauty. On Gyllyng Street, a reference to an old address, the reclusive British avant-garde folkie has widened the scope of his compositions,further fusing folk’s gorgeous harmonies and melancholy undertones with the ethereal qualities of dream pop. Horns or crisp, reverb-soaked guitar lines, delicately placed across the album’s seven songs, often pierce through the smoky haze of Sumpner’s homespun vocals. Touches of church bells and a children’s choir only add to the record’s beautiful, haunting sense of nostalgia.