26×26 – P is for Peter Bruntnell

Every review of Peter Bruntnell I’ve read starts with something like “England’s best kept musical secret” or “quietly building up a reputation as one of the country’s most promising singer-songwriters”. And whilst that may be true, I should say that Peter’s not one for hoopla. You won’t find dozens of promo videos on t’internet. Sure, he’s on MySpace, but it looks like an afterthought. His Wikipedia entry is.. brief. It may just be he’d rather get on with doing what he does best.

And this 1999 album is the greatest example of that.

There is no more appropriate cover photograph for Normal for Bridgwater because, like a forest shrouded in early morning mist, it reveals more the deeper you get into it. I wasn’t hooked at first listen, but it quietly pleads and gently burrows its way into your soul.

It’s Americana, alternative country music, folk-rock.. if Peter actually WAS American he’d be praised to the high hills. It has echoes of the Byrds and Neil Young and stands proudly alongside albums from modern American bands like Wilco and the Jayhawks. It has a soft-focus (that cover again), slightly low-fi feel, with sadly expressive, lonesome, longing vocals and shining moments of great beauty. A liquid gleaming pedal steel (courtesy of Son Volt‘s Eric Heywood) winds in and out of the phrasing. The guitar work on the album is exemplary, thanks to young gun James Walbourne (who is currently a Pretender).

Give it a try. It’s in my top ten (for ever, not just this week). And the follow-up Ends Of The Earth is almost as good.

N.B. So what does the title mean? Peter: “A couple who are friends of mine ran a particularly rough pub in Bridgwater (a small town in the south-west of England – ed.) and the landlady was telling me one day that the doctors there use the abbreviation NFB (= Normal For Bridgwater) when describing their test results for slightly disturbed local patients.”

P.S. I could have just as easily written about: Prefab Sprout and the album Steve McQueen

Wonder what Q will be? I don’t listen to any bands beginning with Q!