MICAH P. HINSON Micah P. Hinson and the Opera Circuit
With the second album from critically acclaimed Texan songwriter Micah P Hinson comes a tale of woe. Having spent the recording of his debut addicted to prescription drugs, he kicked the habit only to seriously injure his back and find himself dosed-up, in pain and housebound for the recording of Micah P. Hinson and the Opera Circuit. The result though is an intimate, heart-felt and genuine slice of Americana.
The beauty of Hinson’s sound lies in that incredible vocal, which doesn’t seem as though it should belong to a 24-year-old. It is sometimes warm, occasionally cracked and sorrowful, while much of the time it is so gruff that one wonders if he isn’t actually the secret lovechild of Tom Waits.
Comparisons to Waits go beyond that voice though. Waits’ influence is clear in the jaunty Diggin’ a Grave, whereas closing track Don’t Leave Me Now! familiarly juxtaposes ivory tickling with a rougher-than-sandpaper vocal.
Elsewhere, the album weaves its way through styles and genres. Gentle country ballad Drift Off To Sleep is as touching and tender a song as you will hear this year, while You’re Only Lonely is a brooding rock monster.
As a songwriter that makes the ugly seem intensely beautiful, Hinson falls into the same bracket as Bright Eyes, and with two outstanding albums recorded through a fuzz of prescription drugs and illness, one wonders just what level of magnificence he will reach when firing on all cylinders.
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