James William Hindle

Now maturing into his third album, this alt-folk singer-songwriter finds himself yet again steeped in acoustic Americana, which is a little surprising considering he’s from the UK. Mind you, most of the interest in Hindle has come from this side of the Atlantic, and he is signed to iconic San Francisco label Badman, home to Red House Painters’ Mark Kozelek and other like-minded troubadours. Town Feeling is by no means stylistically aligned with his morose label-mates, and although it is at times delicate, there are some real hazy summertime songs here like "Silence” or "Seven Hours.” Although most tracks feature sparse instrumentation, there is a little variety, with "Dark is Coming” picking up the tempo and "Love You More” even dropping a little banjo into the mix. Production was courtesy of Ladybug Transistor’s Gary Olson, who keeps things basic without too much studio trickery, which perfectly suits Hindle’s delivery and songwriting style. Although it’s not groundbreaking, it’s a great album that builds on Hindle’s talents, which he seems to becoming more comfortable with.