Micah P. Hinson & the Red Empire Orchestra continues along the same lonely track of sardonic observation and melancholy that made 2005’s Micah P. Hinson and the Opera Circuit so sublime. Lyrically, tracks are often jarringly blunt: “I'm not afraid of the sunset or the rain”, Micah drawls in ‘Dyin Alone’, “I'm just afraid of dying alone”. Elsewhere, it’s the frustrating inevitabilities in human nature: “Constantly craving what isn’t mine”, he rues in ‘Tell Me it Ain’t So’. Passed through the vocal cords of a person of lesser worldliness, it’s the kind of observation that would sound corny – but through Micah the lyrics are invested with a unique profundity.

 

And all credit must also be doled out to the music accompanying that voice. As suggested by the albums’ title (and also by the voice itself) it’s an acoustic affair, with violins, cellos, accordions and organs given a strum alongside the good ol’ fashioned guitar. Often (especially in ‘The Fire Up to My Knees’) the musical accompaniment drops almost completely away to leave Micah’s voice bare on the track – cracking, straining, absolutely captivating.

 

Even when the vocals are gone (the extended intro to ‘I Keep Having These Dreams’), the album does not waver away from the tone of moody reflection already established. Which isn’t to say that Micah P. Hinson & the Red Empire Orchestra is a downer – it manages to be quiet and introspective without ever descending into an irritating whine.

 

Listening to Micah recalls Nick Cave and Johnny Cash, and it’s no empty compliment to place him in those same ranks. Micah P. Hinson & the Red Empire Orchestra is a fine album, and the perfect accompaniment for a night out alone on the prairie.