Black Mountain UFO Manhaton Records****

If you believe what you read on the Peter Bruntnell's website, the title track of his latest album was inspired by therapy sessions, hypnosis and (via the latter) the realisation that he had been abducted by aliens. Casting aside such information, and knowing that Devon-via- New Zealand singer-songwriter Bruntnell has more sense than most, it leaves us little room to once again proclaim him as one of the UK's most underrated songwriters. Labelled with the "Americana" tag from his 1995 debut ( Cannibal), Bruntnell has subsequently embraced ambient-folk and psych-pop. As if to make everyone happy, this newbie has elements of each. Running though it all, however, is a singularly British strain (Reggie Perrin, Penelope Keith Blue) that adds to the often beautiful, dreamy and beguiling mix. See peterbruntnell.net

Download tracks: Reggie Perrin, Ghost Dog, Church of the Quivering Brethren