Later this week, folk-country rockers Hiss Golden Messenger will release their 15th studio album, 'Jump For Joy'; at least, they think it's their 15th.
Chief singer-songwriter and figurehead, M.C. Taylor hasn't kept track of the specifics for quite some time."I've no doubt that I've made 15 physical products that have the words Hiss Golden Messenger on them," he quips, "but at this point I think I'm trying to lose count." Let's just say it's not Hiss Golden Messenger's first rodeo – it's at least their 15th.
So, how does one keep the creative process an exciting one when you're double digits deep with album releases? For Taylor, it's all about branching out and keeping on your toes as a musician.
"My hope is to maintain an excitement for the work in front of me, whatever that may be," he says. "I've put projects in front of myself, especially in the past few years, that challenged me.
"A couple of years ago, I made this record under the name Revelators. I don't know that many people were aware of it. It was basically a free-jazz-dub record with no singing.
"When we went to make 'Jump For Joy', the Revelators record was just a few months in the past. I brought a new sensibility with me into the studio because of it. Moving forward, I intend to do that as often as I can.
"My hope is that as I get older, and the Hiss Golden Messenger catalogue gets deeper, it also gets weirder and more unpredictable."
Though the music of Hiss Golden Messenger largely falls at the feet of Taylor, he has also incorporated a revolving door of musicians to assist him in bringing the songs to life throughout the project's 16-year history.
'Jump For Joy' will mark his third consecutive LP with this current line-up, which by Hiss Golden Messenger standards practically makes it a long-term relationship. "By this point, I know what they're capable of and they know what I'm after," Taylor says.
"What I love about them the most is how much they can surprise me, while still working within the boundaries of what the music is all about.
"Alex [Bingham], our bass player, has really gotten into MPC drum programming and sampling. When we were making 'Jump For Joy', he was kind of auditioning these overdubs on certain songs where he was adding these sample-based grooves into the songs that really felt like they were becoming part of the fabric. I was really encouraging of Alex to keep bringing that in.
"All the guys in the band are my friends, and I love them as both musicians and people. We see each other every day, we always talk about music and they know my back catalogue well from being out on the road with me over these last few years. They're right in the groove."
Post the release of 'Jump For Joy', one of the first places Taylor and co. will tour in support of it is Australia. It will mark the maiden voyage of Hiss Golden Messenger down under, with two headlining shows in Sydney and Melbourne backing up a headlining spot at the alt. country gathering in the Hunter Valley known as Dashville Skyline.
"I honestly don't know fully what to expect," he says. "Everybody that I've talked to that's been over there, though, is always singing its praises.
"We're super excited – I actually don't think anyone in my band has ever been there before, so there's gonna be a lot of firsts on this tour."
'Jump For Joy' is released 25 August.
Hiss Golden Messenger 2023 Tour Dates
Wed 27 Sep - The Corner Hotel (Melbourne)Thu 28 Sep - The Great Club (Sydney)
Fri 29 Sep - Dashville Skyline (Hunter Valley)
Sat 30 Sep - Dashville Skyline (Hunter Valley)
