Micah P. Hinson: And The Gospel Of Progress

Herald rating: * * * * *

It is heartening to know that Micah P. Hinson suffered for his art. You wouldn't want him sounding quite as despondent, uplifting, lonely, moving, weary and lovelorn as this if he was putting it all on.

The 24-year-old's debut might do the occasional singer-songwriter folk music alt-country things - bellowing what can initially sound like simple lyrics over acoustic guitar with an accordion doing its best not to sound too cheerful in the background.

But with its backing by Anglo-American band the Earlies it elevates the raw emotions - and boy, they can sound like they're still bloody and quivering - of Hinson's songs to a higher musical plane.

Especially when At Last Our Promises shifts from its spartan verses into the string-laden deep well of a chorus. Or when on Patience, Hinson's despairing voice starts off howling by itself only to be slowly enveloped by a wall of sound, as does the brilliant epic finale The Day Texas Sank To the Bottom of the Sea.

Hinson still manages some understated ballads that require extra sleeve for the amount of heart offered (You Lost Sight of Me, Caught In Between, The Possibilities). He's also capable of some lovely Nick Drake-like guitar (Beneath the Rose) and tunes (especially the sea shantyish As You Can See) that shine through the pervading gloom. But it's not a depressing album. Just one in which a songwriter's depth of feeling is amplified by the music to his dreamy, bitter, bruised but beautiful songs. A classic debut.

Label: Spunk/Rhythmethod