Will Schube is in a strategic mind frame
While there’s no myth behind Hiss Golden Messenger, the duo of MC Taylor and Scott Hirsch, the music they make recalls the sort of past that’s not quite nostalgia but representative of a different—perhaps better—musical era. Hiss Golden Messenger’s latest full-length, Lateness of Dancers, marries old school folk with the unabashed joy of Willie Nelson country and the freeform ramblings of the Dead’s tamer side. The record’s a beauty; unassuming in its nature but deliberate in its execution and staying power. Lateness was one of 2014’s most underrated records, and they’ve followed it up with an EP—three tracks (one live) that solidify the duo and their backing band as something noteworthy and genuine.
he EP’s title track is a live cut from the Lateness record. While the album version lilts and meanders, the live rendition pulses and attacks—oddly reminiscent of the way many punk bands come to life during that transition from studio to stage. “Southern Grammar (Live)” sounds like a typical modern country song, if instead of uninspired musical arrangements and misogynistic, fanciful lyrics, there was an emphasis on musicality and storytelling. MC Taylor’s voice sounds a bit like Bob Dylan’s, if Dylan was raised on Dave Berman and Bill Callahan instead of traditional blues and folk (there’s also a bit of The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel, too).
“He Wrote the Book” is a simple ballad-esque track, spreading itself out and letting Taylor’s vocals shine. A bit like Deer Tick’s John McCauley without the booze, Taylor’s voice is both stalwart and affecting. His melodies and delivery take on the characteristics of the slow-moving chord progressions. The EP’s final track, “Brother, Do You Know the Road?”, is also the record’s finest (“Brother” was without a home for a few years before it found its way on this EP). Searching lap steel and billowing organ swells accompany a lyrical call and response, the vocals coming from every direction; less overwhelming than comforting. Both Taylor’s assertive yet subtle vocal delivery and the shyness of the backing melodies offer something independent but entangled, leading to a chorus less ecstatic than cathartic; this section is more mountain peak conquered than firework shot into the sky.
