JD Hinton Returns With A New EP
- R.A.G.
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
A new EP release from JD Hinton just dropped, and it's got an outrageously addictive blend of what I would consider to be a blues rock approach, and an indie rock overtone that all has a bit of a southern swagger to it and when you listen to the record through, it almost has the air or feel of a live performance.
The So Close So Far EP is laced with a lot of honesty, and some of the lyrics can be quite descriptive, which lets you get a grasp on the sentiment behind the songs, but the way they are performed vocally is what brings those intense moments.
This record has a lot of grittiness to it. The guitar tones, the way the vocals are performed, all of that stuff has a grit or a bit of roughness, which adds to some of the bits of emotion that come through.
The record starts with the track called 'Rain Rain Rain", which is a song that has a great blues drive behind it, and the percussion on this track makes it. It's sort of rolling and always forward-moving, utilizing every drum on the kit, and I feel like this fills any kind of space that the track might have had.
You get some great layers of guitars. The main rhythm guitar and then there's this overlapping guitar that sort of just strikes these open chords and that one has a tremolo effect on it, giving that vastness to the track and building more and more on the way that the atmosphere comes through.
The track that follows is called 'Don't Dig My Grave Yet", and this one feels a little different, although it does still have some of those staples that the first track did.
You still get some of the blues undertone and the grittiness in the vocals, but this one has a more expansive kind of feel, guitar-wise, and a more indie rock approach as well.
I love that blend because it gives you a lot to dig into.
You can tell this track is coming from someplace real as well, and some of those thoughts or tendencies that come through in the track are relatable to say the least.
The next track is called 'Let's Do Now (I'm Here, You're Here).
This one is more stripped down with a hold on acoustic guitars and vocals, with a little bit of extra tones coming in and out.
I like this approach as well because it works wonders for that soulful feel the vocals and it also lets you pay a lot of attention to the lyrics and sentiment of the song itself
This track is performed with Katherin Shorr, so there are some great vocal harmonies between the two getting thrown out there, and it really adds a bit of robustness to the aesthetic of this track.
I love a good duet, and I also love it when harmonies really let the song flourish, and this is a perfect example of that.
"Where Do I Sign" is the track that follows, and this one goes back to that blues grittiness, and it's got a powerful undertone to it.
You can hear the excitable vocals and the energy that lets the song pack a bit of a punch, and I definitely adore how this panned out because after the acoustic track, this brings you back to the roots of the record once more.
The closing track is "I Have To Dream," which, as far as I can tell, is a cover of a Celine Dion track recorded for a film that JD has taken and morphed into his own personal testimony.
I find it amazing how an artist like this can take someone else's track and make it his own the way that he did.
This whole record has such a graceful approach to it and listening to it all the way through is the only way to go because then you get a grasp on all the different approaches, styles, feels, personality, and tendencies that the record gives off.
Besides, you have to get to that last track. It's got so many layers and such a beautifully cinematic approach that you can't turn away from it.
Either way, absolutely check this record out as soon as you can and see what this does for you, because it will have an effect on you in some way.