Tish Hinojosa

“I’m gonna find me a new song to sing,” declares Tish Hinojosa on the title track of her new album, West, the first since 2013’s After the Fair. Since returning to Austin, TX, from a nearly decade-long sojourn in Germany five years ago, Hinojosa has had to heal, both emotionally and physically from a shattered marriage and a pair of serious surgeries. That rebirth comes through in this classic country-flavored collection, co-produced by longtime collaborators Marvin Dykhuis and Chip Dolan at Fire Station Studios in San Marcos, TX.

“Music flows through cracks and scars,” she sings on a tribute to “My Good Guitar,” which tells the story of how Tish repaired a prized acoustic guitar, handmade by noted luthier John Dillon, which she purchased back in 1992. “Though we are weathered, we’ve both pulled through,” read the song’s lyrics, artfully comparing artist and instrument.

“She sat broken in my closet for the last seven years,” explains Tish. “I couldn’t face looking at her. I decided to buy some wood clamps and gorilla glue at Home Depot, and repair it, just like I’d seen on the DIY Network. We’ve both been through a lot, and now we’re back in action.”

Both guitar and owner sound as good as new and vibrant as ever, given the evidence on West, its title song inspired by an epiphany experienced by Tish during a road trip through Tucson, AZ, where she viewed a dazzling sunset followed by the rumbles of an incoming thunderstorm.

“This album is definitely about renewal,” she says. “Getting back on my feet, regaining my health, and creativity.”