Mr. Hinson's
...and the Gospel of Progress made my year end top ten last year, both on the strength of the songwriting and on the potency of the songs. 'Close Your Eyes' was one of the best openers of the year, and 'Patience' was scathing and relentless. The new release by Hinson,
The Baby and the Satellite appears to miss the mark, as set by its predecessor. The lyrical skills remain obvious, and Hinson's voice sounds like a cross between an excited Stephen Merritt and a depressed Jeff mangum, but the urgency is gone. The songs drone on, and are for the mose part unremarkable and not terribly memorable. On first listen, only one song stands out to me, the third track "The Leading Guy", which begins as guitar with choral accompaniment and ascends into a fantastic full arrangement. Song of the year potential with this track, but the rest of the disc left me a little cold.
Advance currently available on emusic
First listen rating: 69
Obner(s) who I think would like this: PopTodd, tentoze