ARTiST: Micah P. Hinson And The Opera Circuit
TiTLE: Micah P. Hinson And The Opera Circuit
LABEL: Sketchbook / Jade Tree Records
GENRE: Indie
TiME: 42:23 min
SiZE: 57,3 MB
BiTRATE: VBRkbps
RiP DATE: Jul-03-2006
RELEASE DATE: Oct-10-2006
WEBSiTE: n/a
Track List:
01. Seems Almost Impossible 03:42
02. Diggin' A Grave 02:06
03. Jackeyed 03:46
04. ItÆs Been So Long 03:01
05. Drift Off To Sleep 04:37
06. Letter From Huntsville 01:56
07. She DonÆt Own Me 05:35
08. My Time Wasted 02:10
09. Little Boys Dream 04:23
10. YouÆre Only Lonely 05:40
11. DonÆt Leave Me Now! 05:27
Release Notes:
Texas-based singer-songwriter Micah P. Hinson will
release his second official full-length, Micah P.
Hinson and the Opera Circuit on October 10 on the
Jade Tree label. He will also tour the West Coast in
July with David Bazan.
Hinson won much acclaim in 2004, particularly in the
UK for his debut album Micah P. Hinson and the
Gospel of Progress. Hinson, born in Memphis, TN,
into a strict Christian fundamentalist household,
experienced a turbulent period in his late teens,
involving narcotics, jail time for forging
prescriptions and a tumultuous relationship with a
Vogue cover model - all before the age of 20, Hinson
was homeless, penniless and abandoned by his family.
He was eventually forced to declare himself bankrupt
and moved into a motel and acquired a mundane
telemarketing job. During this period, Micah still
managed to write around 30 songs on borrowed
instruments and equipment. Many of the songs he
recorded during this period ended up as The Baby and
The Satellite EP which finally saw the light of day
earlier this year on Jade Tree.
The Opera Circuit was recorded under strange
conditions.
After celebrating Burns night in 2005 in his
hometown (ôquite a strange thing to do in Abilene,
Texasö), a Æhigh spiritedÆ friend playfully hit
Micah square in the small of his back. ôI went
paralyzed for a moment, sucked it up and went back
to lifeö. However, ôover the next few weeks the
pressure caved in and I could barely stand up. I was
hunched over in constant painö. With a imminent tour
of Europe in the Spring of 2005 to support The Baby
and the Satellite EP, ôI had to get back on the
horse and ride it again. Like having to share a bed
again with an Æancient, ugly loverÆ that was better
left as a half-formed memory. It was 40 mg. of
Codeine (Opiate), 100 mg. of Soma (muscle relaxer),
2 mg of Xanax (anti-anxiety and mind-eraser), 400
mg. Neurontin (anti-loony), and a few others and all
this within every and any given day of my lifeö.
Ironically, Micah found himself on the same
prescription drugs as those he had been addicted to
before he made The Gospel Of Progress, but under
very different circumstances.
With little knowledge of just of how serious his
back condition was, two months on the road
aggravated his initial injury to breaking point.
When Micah returned home to the US he was rushed to
hospital to have back surgery. ôI was in hospital
for weeks, I couldnÆt turn myself for over a month,
had a walker, a corset (ironically a lot like the
corset on The Gospel of Progress artwork), a shower
chair as I couldnÆt properly stand, I had to piss
sitting down for awhile, basically a living
nightmare.ö
ôThe reason why I tell you all these things is
because I want you to see and read where my life was
when I began and finished this new full length
record. I did the majority of the recordings sitting
around the house, during the times I could actually
get out of bed. Friends came to Abilene from all
over to record their partsö. Eric Bachmann (of
Archers of Loaf and Crooked Fingers) lent a helping
hand and arranged the strings and horns, while
MicahÆs current touring partner and Gospel Of
Progress veteran, H. Da Massa, traveled from
Manchester, England to lay down Harmonica. Micah
christened the band ÆThe Opera CircuitÆ.
The 11 songs that make up Micah P. Hinson and the
Opera Circuit are the real deal - a document of
friends ôshooting the shitö on dusty summer evenings
while creating some of the most beautiful and
heartfelt music. This method of recording makes
truly intimate and warm listen, from the sounds of
crickets in the long grass on the opening
front-porch lullaby ÆSeems Almost ImpossibleÆ to the
surface hiss on prairie ballad, æShe DonÆt Own MeÆ,
while the heavier, ÆbandÆ songs on the album, such
as æLetter from HuntsvilleÆ and the epic beast,
ÆYouÆre Only LonelyÆ, sound as if they are straight
out of a basement jam session. Perhaps the highlight
of the album, though, is the beautiful piano led
closing death-ballad, ÆDonÆt Leave Me NowÆ. While
the album is layered with instrumentation, there is
sense of space that allows MicahÆs beautifully
cracked yet warm vocal and matured songwriting to
shine through with a real presence. Micah P. Hinson
and The Opera Circuit maybe a little rougher around
the edges than it predecessor, but itÆs heart is
definitely stronger and more honest.