JAMES WILLIAM HINDLE
Town Feeling (Badman)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz

---

If country rock has truly split into two extremes, one being the shallow, posturing middle band of Garth Brooks, and the other an authentically dark legacy a la Wilco, then it's an artist like James William Hindle who truly spans the middle passage.

Hindle's is a user-friendly sound, smart enough to acknowledge the clouds threatening rain for the ominous dangers they present, and too, strong and steadfast enough to sing about it. His third album, Town Feeling, is a pocketful of really satisfying songs, all warranting repeated listens, like "Dark is Coming" and "Seven Hours," the latter a real trophy for the singer-songwriter from West London. He is connected with luminaries all over the map, from the Shins and the Decembrists to Beck and Elvis Costello.

James William Hindle creates the folk styled aura of one world-strong and ready to pen his account of it. His voice is lazy, autumnal and true, the music full of a sweet complexity, rarely done anymore. If somewhere there is a green pasture for the respite of tired eyes, James William Hindle will find it, wearing well worn blue jeans.

[Pick this up at www.jwh.hinah.com.]

© 2005 - Erick Mertz