Hiss Golden Messenger: Lateness of Dancers

Lateness of Dancers
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Artist: Hiss Golden Messenger
Genre: Rock
Label: Merge

MC Taylor has been through many different musical iterations over the last 20 years, from hardcore with Ex-Ignota and indie rock with The Court & Spark onto, initially, acoustic folky balladry with Hiss Golden Messenger. On Lateness of Dancers, Taylor joins forces with a bunch of North Carolina musicians to make a good-natured rock, country, folk and r'n'b rattle. Saturday's Song is perhaps the best example of this, a song softly whooping on the porch for the downhome country pleasures of the weekend. Elsewhere, Taylor and band pick their way through tracks with grit in the grooves such as I'm A Raven (Shake Children) or which soar with gospelly intent like Day O Day (A Love So Free). It's subtle, powerful and pure stuff.