Hiss Golden Messenger

A vehicle for singer/songwriter Michael Taylor (aka M.C. Taylor) and multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer Scott Hirsch, Hiss Golden Messenger's fusion of classic rock, folk-pop, and sparse blues in various guises has seen Taylor compared to the likes of lo-fi legends Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Bill Callahan. While one of Taylor's first statements as Hiss Golden Messenger, 2010's Bad Debt, was a stark, home-recorded voice-and-guitar session, most of the work he created with Hirsch was more ambitious, blending a range of roots music flavors -- blues, country, soul, R&B, and boogie rock -- with the emotional palette of Taylor's songwriting. Their music could easily swing from introspection to giddy joy, with 2013's Haw, 2021's Quietly Blowing It, and 2023's Jump for Joy documenting him at his most expressive.