Micah P. Hinson

Micah P. Hinson
Micah P. Hinson and the Opera Circuit
Jade Tree

You're required to root for Micah P. Hinson. Why? His hardscrabble upbringing in Abilene, Texas. His nicotine-stained baritone. His sad songs for happy folk. While The Opera Circuit doesn't possess quite the same tonal epiphanies of his earlier Gospel of Progress, it's still crafted with Sunday sermon in mind. The punchy banjo on "Diggin A Grave" leads a manic waltz with rub-a-dub thuds, like famished coal miners banging their fists on the supper table. "Letter to Huntsville" displays why Hinson's an old soul—he knows what to say hours before you figure out how you feel. Crooked Fingers virtuoso Eric Bachmann, who arranged the record's neatly pressed strings and horns, salutes baroque sensibilities without coming off like a Decemberists apologist. Still, Hinson's drastic shifts in mood make it difficult to flag him down. The record's designed around a splintered romance (lingering closer "Don't Leave Me Now" is telling enough), but since you're rootin', you almost want him to move on.

by Drew Lazor

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