Hiss Golden Messenger

Hiss Golden Messenger continues to be an evolving vehicle for singer-songwriter M.C. Taylor. In the beginning, its songs featured only Taylor’s voice and guitar recorded to a cheap cassette recorder. That same intimate connection and genuine spirit can be felt in recent albums where horns, strings and choirs build on Taylor’s folk-inspired sound-world.

With heartfelt lyrics about love and loneliness, struggle and determination, mature songs express the gap between what we’ve always known but never said. Revealing Taylor’s masterful knowledge and fondness for the American music catalogue, all 11 studio albums, including the new release Terms of Surrender are inescapably beautiful and ceaselessly intriguing.

Recalling a wide spectrum of American vernacular music—from Archie Brownlee to the Staple Singers to Van Morrison and Townes Van Zandt—this performance promises to enthral Melbourne’s lovers of indie folk-rock.