Hinkley

Estate Sale

(Carbon)

Record Review by Amber Henson

Any album that has a cat mewing randomly in the middle is okay with me.  But I suppose you’ll want more explanation than that.  Hinkley’s recently released Estate Sale is their first album under a label, and their first album since 2004’s Frail and Poker Faced EP.  Their effort is impressive, with sixteen songs all quite different in sound.

If they must be labeled, you might have to call it country, but what a nasty label that can be.  I very much dislike country, believe me, but this band has done country via The Thrills, with a nice indie side to their music.  This is how country ought to be, with harmonicas and slow beats that make you want to take it on a road trip to your childhood home.

Estate Sale is full of all sorts of eclectic sounds, but doesn’t ever quite flow.  Lead singer Will Veeder and his background vocalist—his wife—sometimes accomplish a Brunettes dichotomy, whereas at other times the band is reminiscent of the Squirrel Nut Zippers with muted trumpets and instrumental chaos.  For some songs everything is upbeat, rocking and head bopping, and then next thing you know you’re hearing: “With whisky in my veins, I couldn’t stand the pain, with a pistol in my hand, I close my eyes again” and “All my faded dreams couldn’t save her.”

Actually, there are large parts of this album where they seem to be aiming for tears.  This idea is reinforced by the album’s cover:  a sad decrepit barn in the middle of nowhere.  Judging from the pictures on their website, their shows give you this same feeling, with the main lights over the stage turned low substituted with sparkling lights above.  They seem determined to bring about certain moods with these songs, and because of this you have to be in the right mood to listen to the album—but if you are in such a mood, you will come away with a feeling of awe at this band’s ability to move you.