And the Pioneer Saboteurs, Full Time Hobby ***

At the age of 29, Texan Micah P Hinson has already done his fair share of living. His world is one of embittered love affairs and rickety tunes that have one foot teetering in the anti-folk world, the other precariously balanced in punky murder ballads. There's much to digest on his fifth album, and although its sluggish tempo (apart from the excellent rock'n'roll rattle of Watchers, Tell Us of the Night) may frustrate some, the cinematic hiss of the various coarse instrumental breaks are hugely atmospheric. For hearty songs in a Lee Hazlewood- esque vein, you can't go wrong with a stirring The Striking Before the Stormor the grizzled melancholy of Letter from Twin Wrecks– not least because of that reassuring, oak-aged voice. See micahphinson.com

Download tracks: The Striking Before the Storm