Photo: Elise Tyler
One of the chief reasons I’ve always enjoyed the music of Hiss Golden Messenger is that I find it so spiritual. Not in the bullshit fake manor of a Joel Osteen. But in a much deeper and personal manner. A fact confirmed in a recent tweet he sent out.
It's my polite way of saying fuck it, let's be good to each other anyway.
— HissGoldenMessenger (@hissgldnmssr) September 23, 2017
MC Taylor leads his cracker-jack band and guest vocalists on 10 tracks of soulful Americana that somehow mixes despair with hope, a theme expressed in opener; Jenny Of The Roses – “I’ve never been afraid of darkness, it’s just a different kind of light.” A few tracks later on Harder Rain, the horns walks a razor’s edge between rapturous and mournful; something found in Van Morrison’s best tracks.
On the ‘B’ side Gulfport You’ve Been On Mind, has a Jerry Garcia Band vibe; when we would his band on an R&B soul revue. Domino (Time Will Tell) is a swinging jam, with Phil Cook really shining on this track. And Taylor closes the album with When The Wall Comes Down, a tune that xxxx you to persist in these times.
In a recent podcast, Steven Hyden commented that Pure Comedy might be the perfect album for 2017. It is an album that really picks at the scab at the current state of this country. If that is the case, then Hallelujah Anyhow is the perfect balm to get you through the day.
Follow me on Twitter at @WoodyHearYa or @HearYa
Hiss Golden Messenger is here
