Styles shift again for the lazing slow soul title track with its Al Green echoes, a number that starts out addressing a broken relationship and ends speaking of a broken nation (“ The shape of things/Don’t look so good/On the TV there’s a riot goin’ on”) and how healing means “ You gotta let someone in/That’s all that’ll save you”. The mood shifts to a slow burn bluesy funk with Mighty Dollar that serves to remind, should you have forgotten that “ The poor man loses and the rich man wins”, though the narrator here “ Can’t get enough/Of that mighty dollar”, not all, just a little. A countrified slow lope with a Johnny Cash-styled beat and added harmonica, The Great Mystifier is basically about looking for a good love because “ when it’s right/It’s worth the pain”.
The song’s Southern country-soul carries a note of hope and defiance as he sings, “ We’ll be fine in the morning/Up with the mountains/Down with the system/That keeps us in chains”. Painted in impressionistic hues and recorded with the band (among them Buddy Miller, Scott Hirsch and Josh Kaufman) in a studio during lockdown, the album begins its journey through themes of growing up, loss and responsibility with Way Back In The Way Back. Taylor as a retrospective of the past five years of his life. ‘Quietly Blowing It’ is described by Hiss Golden Messenger frontman M.C. This band deserves all the praise, and Taylor should be included in that pantheon of current master songwriters like Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, and Tyler Childers.Ĭheck out these songs: “I Need a Teacher” ( Terms of Surrender, 2019) “Hardlytown” ( Quietly Blowing It, 2021) “Jenny of the Roses” ( Hallelujah Anyhow, 2017) “Biloxi” ( Heart Like a Levee, 2016) “Saturday’s Song” ( Lateness of Dancers, 2014).Hiss Golden Messenger – Quietly Blowing It Those disparate vibes come from the mix of buoyant and joyous melodies and hooks, anchored in Taylor’s inherently subdued and plaintive vocals. The latter is a gorgeous and melodic collection of songs, all at once uplifting, heartwarming, and melancholy. The band has been putting out albums since 2008, and broke through (as much as any indy band can these days) with 2019’s album, Terms of Surrender. Led by singer/songwriter and guitarist MC Taylor, the band produces rootsy folk rock, punctuated by Taylor’s country-rock guitar licks and sand-paper voice. I have been a big fan of North Carolina’s Hiss Golden Messenger for a few years now. I cannot guarantee that you will enjoy these selections, but you can rest assured that they are quality choices, some great music, and if they appeal to your tastes, you won’t regret giving them a listen. They are not all “new,” necessarily, but might simply be new to you. As a little summer gift from me to you, I will pass along five artists/bands that I think are worth your time to check out. Thankfully for you, the reader, I have done a lot of this leg work already. That can take more time and work to locate the ones I really like, but it has also paid off for me. Finally, I also dig into the alternative, rock, singer/songwriter, and occasionally metal channels/categories on streaming services. This is at times tedious work, but it usually pays off when I discover a new band I love. I also try to comb through music magazines and websites like Paste, American Songwriter, Rolling Stone, and Consequence of Sound to find new bands. The same goes for the bands I already like who plug other bands on their social media accounts. To find this new music, I mainly rely on recommendations from family and friends whose tastes run along the same lines as my own, and who regularly send me new songs and bands to check out.
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