![]() ![]() When they were beckoned back on stage for an encore after their deep Delta blues jam, “ Southern Grammar,” HGM changed it up yet again. It was evident that Taylor views music as the ultimate coping mechanism. ![]() ![]() Taylor compromised with the crowd by transforming his song, “ Lucia,” into another of the Dead’s famed tunes, “Franklin’s Tower.” Everyone cheered and gyrated in place. Throughout the show, silver-haired members of the crowd yelled for HGM’s cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Brown-Eyed Woman” off of the 2016 tribute record, Day of the Dead. Everyone around us seemed to nod in approval, while the gentleman next to me was bent over the railing in attempt to shush the bar crowd below. “This guitarist rips!” shouted a blonde man behind me. It’s an inventive, searing experiment that stands out from the rest of HGM’s blustery country-rock catalogue. The next tune, “ Like a Mirror Loves a Hammer,” shows this band’s deep understanding of folk, blues, and soul music. When Taylor speaks, you get the impression that he means every word of it, that this is his everything. The way MC Taylor and Phil Cook shared their stories with the audience during this concert was impressive and personalized the performance. This song is a testament for chasing down something that feels pure.” Alone under the spotlight, armed with an acoustic guitar, Taylor meditatively sang, “ one morning, one morning / the world was in motion,” as if describing the exact moment he embarked on the journey that became Hiss Golden Messenger. “But I was writing some songs for a friend and it changed my life into something else. Another repeated phrase, another harmony: “can we go walking two by two / with no air between us.”Īfter the band covered more material from multiple HGM records, Taylor shared a story. Taylor introduced the next song,“ Gulfport You’ve Been on My Mind.” as “gospel for the 21st century.” The three-part harmony between Taylor, Cook, and a temporary band member named Skylar Gudasz, hit hard: “Yes I’ve seen darker things than night / So give me the light.” Cook put a harmonica to his mouth and produced a gentle wail. Taylor stood tall with bent knees, like a blue heron, passionately strumming his acoustic guitar. “We’re gonna treat this like a Saturday night,” he exclaimed as he broke into “Saturday’s Song.” Darren Jessee (Ben Folds Five) gave a simple, steady drumbeat, while Phil Cook (Megafaun)-Taylor’s “kindred spirit”-played a sparkling harmony on the keys. The song is called “ Jenny of the Roses,” which includes the most prominent line on the album “I’ve never been afraid of darkness / It’s just a different kind of light.” This line summarizes the contradiction, the hope, and the poetics behind Taylor’s belief that positivity is required for progress. He looked like a peaceful soldier.įrom there, HGM moved into the opener of their newest record, Hallelujah Anyhow. Taylor wore slim-fit blue jeans, black cowboy boots, and a faded green military shirt. “Everybody in the whole damn place has gotta have a good time,” sang Taylor in his soaring rasp as he and his band-keys, drums, percussion, two to three guitars, a backup singer, and bass-played the first song, “Biloxi,” off their critically acclaimed record Heart Like a Levee. In the press release, Taylor mentions that “love is the only way out.” On December sixth, those words resonated through Hiss Golden Messenger’s twenty-four song set at The Sinclair in Cambridge, MA. It was recorded quickly with Taylor and his band gathered together in a single studio room. It’s a soul-filled jaunt jumping with heartfelt poetry about the contradictions surrounding hope in today’s America. Less than a year after their last album, Heart Like a Levee (2016), came out, MC Taylor’s soulful country-folk outfit, Hiss Golden Messenger has released a new record entitled Hallelujah Anyhow (2017). ![]()
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