“So Close So Far” is the latest release by JD Hinton, an acclaimed American singer-songwriter and actor based in Los Angeles, California. Consisting of five incredible compositions, this marvelous extended play arrives as a proper continuation of “Traveler,” another excellent EP released in 2024 that you should also check out as soon as possible. Still, this new material carries many innovations in songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing, showcasing the natural progression of an already brilliant songwriter. Lyrically, “So Close So Far” explores themes such as love, perseverance, various emotions, moods, situations, and circumstances. It’s a highly relatable material that calls for reflection. Therefore, it will immediately resonate not only with the JD Hintons fans but anyone who appreciates meaningful, soulful, emotional, cleverly assembled, and flawlessly performed music. Sonically, the artist embraces several complementary music genres to illustrate this lush sonic imagery. Classic rock may come to mind first, but you’ll notice how some of the finest properties borrowed from acoustic rock, blues rock, folk rock, and Americana found their way into this sonic equation. JD Hitnon uses all these additional elements as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to elevate his music to an entirely new level while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. His music resonates with a subtle touch of nostalgia yet, at the same time, it shines with so many qualities that meet all the trends in contemporary acoustic rock and Americana music. Therefore, “So Close So Far” is a collection of memorable songs that will tackle all your senses.
This epic sonic journey commences with “Rain Rain Rain,” an amazing opening composition that shines with all those finest qualities of classic and blues rock. The catchy, memorable, engaging, generously distorted guitar works complement JD Hinton’s raw and emotional vocal performance. This symbiosis between raw, powerful, and gritty riffs and his soulful, passionate, confident vocal harmonies instantly wraps around your listening apparatus and refuses to let go long after the song ends. There’s a certain dynamic, motion, and groove that makes this composition even more appealing to the ears, thanks to the warm, audible, deep basslines and well-accentuated, expertly performed rhythmic patterns. The additional vocal layers, back vocals, and singalongs give a more anthemic, almost gospel feel to particular segments, creating a cathartic listening experience that transports you into a different realm. JD Hinton continues at the same style and pace with “Don’t Dig My Grave Yet,” a standout track that showcases his ability to breathe fresh air into rock music. The generous servings of spring and studio reverb decorate a few instruments, building an ethereal ambiance. The guitars shine once again, with all those calm, soothing, relaxing yet raw, abrasive, and gritty harmonies, melodies, themes, chord progressions, and riffs. The interplay between several guitar layers offers a luxuriant atmosphere where you’ll need several listenings to grasp everything the artist implemented into this song. In the meantime, his voice decorates all the segments and instrumentations by providing more emotional depth and detail to an already intricate song structure. The rhythm section keeps everything in line with such precision and finesse without being too showy. Every instrument has its place and purpose in this sonic equation, proving that JD Hinton is a tremendous singer-songwriter.
The artist dives into Americana and folk rock waters with “Let’s Do Now (I’m Here, You’re Here), a powerful stripped-down acoustic ballad featuring Kathrin Shorr. It’s nearly mindblowing how their voices blend together throughout the entire composition. These vocal interplays are mostly hearable during the choruses. In the meantime, the calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal chord progressions delivered on acoustic guitar serve as a perfect backdrop for all vocal maneuvers to shine upon. There is additional slide guitar acrobatics in the form of an otherwordly solo that uplifts everything to another level. The percussions further improve the listening experience by offering subtle groove, depth, and pace. “Where Do I Sign” returns into bluesy rock waters by delivering another barrage of incredible guitar works. Each riff, chord progression, or accentuation sounds fascinating, contributing to the overall ambiance. These guitar layers immensely support JD Hinton’s raw, soulful, emotive vocal performance that’s actually a centerpiece of this track, telling a story with such confidence. You’ll notice how all those equally impressive, vividly hearable, warm-sounding basslines provide more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth while mind-blowing drumming offers delicate beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics. It’s one of the standout tracks that will force you to spin this incredible EP all over again. This epic sonic journey ends with “I Have To Dream,” another beautiful ballad where JD Hinton almost solely relies upon his voice and acoustic guitar. With the help of sting instrumentations and minimal percussion, he delivers one of the finest folk-rock ballads ever. It’s such a perfect closure of a material that tackles all the senses.
JD Hinton proves once again why he’s one of the finest singer-songwriters. His music immediately penetrates your heart and soul with its poetic, storytelling lyricism and majestic instrumentation. He distilled all his experience, knowledge, skill, and talent into five marvelous songs that will become a staple in your music collection. With “So Close So Far,” JD Hinton showcases how folk rock and Americana music can still sound soulful, exciting, innovative, fresh, and unique. Therefore, you should immediately place this exceptional EP on your music radar. “So Close So Far” is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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