Search - Micah P Hinson :: & The Red Empire Orchestra

Underappreciated gem, one of the best of '08!

Leif Sheppard | United States | 12/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"2008, for the most part, has been a rather lackluster year for new music. I could never get into the new records by No Age, Tv on the Radio, Girl Talk, The Dodos, or Foals - most of their compositions consist of noisy chaos with the occasional patch of a discernible melody. I can understand that this is probably their creative goal, yet I'm a music fan who happens to enjoy actual music.



On the other end of the spectrum I found that all the acts I typically enjoy had rather derivative releases this year, including: Snow Patrol, Sigur Ros, Ray Lamontagne, and Death Cab for Cutie.



So it was with great surprise that I beheld the subtle beauty of Micah P. Hinson's "Red Empire Orchestra". Most of the tracks are built around Hinson's acoustic guitar with occasionally subtle, yet always lush orchestration. Standout tracks include: "Sunrise Over Olympus Moons", "I Keep Havin' These Dreams", and "Throw the Stone". Even the brief acoustic banjo romp of "When We Embraced" is a truly grand track.



This year isn't a complete washout, however, and with that in mind here are seven other highly recommended albums that have a sound similar to Micah P. Hinson:



"Shallow Graves" by The Tallest Man on Earth

"April" by Sun Kil Moon

"Langhorne Slim" by Langhorne Slim

"Oh My God, Charlie Darwin" by The Low Anthem

"The Recordings of The Middle East" by The Middle East

"Soft Airplane" by Chad VanGaalen

"Rook" by Shearwater"