Hiss Golden Messenger
The Durham, North Carolina project of the songwriter M.C. Taylor, a folk and country-soul band with one fixed member and a rotating cast.
- Origin
- Durham, North Carolina, United States
- Years active
- 2007-present
- Genres
- indie folk, alternative country, country rock, blues
- Labels
- Heaven & Earth Magic, Blackmaps, Paradise of Bachelors, Three Lobed Recordings, Merge
- Also known as
- HGM
Origins
Hiss Golden Messenger is Michael Carrington Taylor, who records as M.C. Taylor, and whoever he has gathered around him for a given record. According to Wikipedia, he started it in 2007 with Scott Hirsch after their alt-country band The Court and Spark broke up, and it has been based in Durham, North Carolina ever since. Taylor is the only fixed member; the lineup has included Phil Cook, Brad Cook, Darren Jessee, Josh Kaufman, William Tyler and Scott Hirsch, and the current touring group is Chris Boerner on electric guitar, Rhett Huffman on keyboards, Matt McCaughan on drums and Cameron Ralston on bass.
The early records came out on small labels: Country Hai East Cotton in 2008 or 2009, Bad Debt in 2010, Poor Moon around 2011 and 2012, Lord I Love the Rain in 2012 and Haw in 2013. Wikipedia itself gives different years for two of these, so the exact dates are uncertain. The band signed to Merge in April 2014.
The Merge records
Lateness of Dancers followed in 2014 and Heart Like a Levee, the seventh studio album by Wikipedia's count and the sixth by KEXP's, in October 2016, with Vestapol as a companion that year. Hallelujah Anyhow came in 2017, Virgo Fool in 2018 and Terms of Surrender in 2019, which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Americana Album. Quietly Blowing It, O Come All Ye Faithful and The Sounding Joy appeared in 2021, Jump for Joy in 2023, and a Chrysalis release, I'm People, is listed for 2026.
The music draws on country soul, R&B, gospel, funk and jazz as well as folk and blues, and is built around Taylor's questions about faith, fatherhood and the cost of making music for a living.
Members
- M.C. Taylor vocals, guitars, songwriter (2007-present)
- Chris Boerner electric guitar (touring)
- Rhett Huffman keyboards (touring)
- Matt McCaughan drums (touring)
- Cameron Ralston bass (touring)
Records
- Heart Like a Levee 2016 · Merge
The 2016 Merge album that opens with Biloxi, written in a hotel room and about the cost of being away from home.
Songs
- Biloxi Heart Like a Levee · 2016
The lead single from Heart Like a Levee, a song about guilt over leaving home to work, set at a child's birthday party.
Where to go next
Reference
- Hiss Golden Messenger The band's history and discography.
- Heart Like a Levee The album's tracklist and personnel.
Discography and data
- MusicBrainz: Biloxi recordings Studio and live versions with dates.
Writing and criticism
- Stereogum: Biloxi Taylor on how the album began.
- Americana UK: Biloxi What the song is about.
- KEXP: Song of the Day, Biloxi A write-up of the song.
Sources
- Hiss Golden Messenger, Wikipedia
- Heart Like a Levee, Wikipedia
- Hiss Golden Messenger share the Biloxi single, Stereogum (2016-07-12)
- AUK's chain gang: Hiss Golden Messenger, Biloxi, Americana UK
- Song of the Day: Hiss Golden Messenger, Biloxi, KEXP (2016-12-28)