Man, Peter Bruntnell, is so good. His head pokes up out of a crowd of semi-Americana-from-England singer-songwriter types. I am still all about his phenomenal 1999 record Normal for Bridgewater (listen) after hearing about it through the least hip possible channel, a "Who's the new James Taylor" roundup on CBS Sunday Morning which also included Wilco and someone already forgotten. I still catch myself humming strains of this record a lifetime later.
Power pop purists will embrace his sonic dynamics, harmony addicts will compare it to something outdated and boring, alt.country archivists will put it on the stack of names, and those who like music for its intrinsic capacity for releasing beauty into the air like an atomizer will bob their heads. It's good to see that he is still at it. (listen to Peter and the Murder of Crows, circa 2008)
He's done one of the better Smiths' covers in recent memory as a b-side to the lead single. It's the bee's knees.
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