Micah P Hinson...

Prepare yourself to shed a few tears. Micah Paul Hinson is a lonesome troubador from Texas. He doesn't do country though, at least not totally. He's easier to compare to Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and other songwriters able to pen a heartfelt (read broken) lyric without sounding like a Boys 2 Men ballad (read schlocky and insincere).

Hinson's backstory is a gripping one. Playing away in the Abilene Texas music scene he met a Vogue cover model (also a widow of a notable rock star) who introduced him to valium and other narcotics. At age 19 Hinson was easily influenced/caught under the spell of this glamorous older woman. But like so many things that seem like a blast when you're 19, things took a turn for the worst. He was caught forging perscriptions and went to county jail losing his car, his money, his family, his home. He couch surfed with friends, declared bankruptcy, moved into a motel and got a job telemarketing. He now refers to the woman as the black widow. But during this time he wrote about thirty songs. Songs that weep with his experience. Songs that are expressive, light and dark, difficult and joyful. He's got a gruff voice, maybe 3 notches better than Tom Waits, that he wraps around his lyrics as if they are his only children.

While the music carries many traditional Americana instruments (lap steel, piano, accordion) there are also elements of lush strings, keyboards and tight vocal harmonies. These songs are often black with his heartfelt resentments but they play without forced pity.

A breakup record on par with Richard Buckner's Devotion and Doubt.

From Micah P Hinson & The Gospel of Progress:

Dont' You Forget (Parts 1 and 2)

The Possibilities

Close Your Eyes

Purchase the album. Support good music.