Micah P Hinson

--written March 20, 2009--

Waterloo Records on March 18th was an interesting scene. Justin Townes Earle was on stage doing hillbilly songs, Dept. of Eagles were hanging around outside, and I was thumbing through the stacks looking for Micah Hinson's record. A lot of people were buying records at Waterloo, something I rarely see. Hell, I rarely see record STORES anymore. Maybe it was just SXSW week? Maybe Waterloo has managed to figure out how to make American super-consumers spend their cash on stuff? My small contribution cost me 8 big ones. A bargain.

Micah P. Hinson's NEW record was not there. What I got was THE BABY AND THE SATELLITE, which for me is one of the best things to come out of SXSW 2009. All I know about Micah the person is that he is from Abilene, TX, a town whose main fixtures are 2 christian universities and a Waffle House. I also know after asking around that my friends here in New York have all heard of him, but aren't intimately familiar. Someone joked that his first demo was called "Jesus and My Short Stack." Whatever.


photo by Andy Sheppard

So let's get to that record, which I have been listening to for months. The whole thing is driven by lovely melodies in the vocal and in the lead instruments which alternate in and out with the verses. The album's anima and "slow-song" feel convey a sad backdrop, but the lyrics themselves and the way the songs resolve is incredibly uplifting.

Instrumentation on the record remains fairly constant, and musical themes occasionally mirror one another between songs (with slight variation), making the album seem like a more cohesive work than if one only were to hear isolated tracks. I am not sure what about one record versus another makes it work out this way, but I feel like the songs from TBATS must be heard all together. That being said, I have posted "The Dreams You Left Behind" below all by its lonesome.
"The Dreams You Left Behind" by Micah P. Hinson download mp3 (with permission)

Oh and if you ever tour through Decature, GA:

The Waffle House Museum (who's pic I stole above)
2719 East College Avenue
Decatur, Georgia 30030
Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
*By Appointment Only* - WTF.