Hiss Golden Messenger: Artist You Should Know

Hiss Golden Messenger on their 5^th album, “The Lateness of Dancers”, out now on Merge Records. It’s the band’s first record for the famed label and I fell fast and hard on my first listen.

The fact that I warmed to it so quickly doesn’t surprise me since it features Phil and Brad Cook from Megafaun, who I’m a big fan of, among other collaborators.

I listened to it at sunset and it was perfect.

The songs just glide along with ease even though they don’t shy away from seriousness in the lyrics.

The ruminations on love in “Mahogany Dread” are striking, but the organ melts away a lot of heaviness.

David Bowie has called it “mystical country,” though folk would be an easy label to throw at it.

But to think in DJ terms, the track “Southern Grammar” could be played next to Bob Dylan – thanks to the growl in M.C. Taylor’s vocals – as easily as a contemporary like Ryan Adams or even the Grateful Dead (they get a great jam going in there).

The whole album is great, highly recommended.

RR