Hiss Golden Messenger – Jump For Joy (LP Vinyl) Vinyl Record

Review

There's no shortage of excellent indie-Americana songwriters these days so it is easy to overlook M.C. Taylor and his now longstanding Hiss Golden Messenger outfit. But that's not recommended. Throughout his body of work, and especially during the last several years, Taylor's albums have become increasingly intricate in ways that feel familiar—he's not huge on sonic experimentation—yet still new. Taylor has said that the mood he aimed to capture with Jump for Joy is exactly what the title references—a feeling that's "laughing in the face of catastrophe." Recorded in just two weeks outside of El Paso, Texas, the album's 14 tracks delve deeper into rock-and-roll than Taylor has on previous efforts. Songs like "Feeling Eternal," "Shinbone" and "I Saw the New Day in the World" sound like long-lost relics from the '80s, when slick sunglasses and Huey Lewis ruled the airwaves, giving off a driving, synthy feel. "20 Years and a Nickel" weaves bouncy funk elements over a soft piano presence, while Taylor manages to make the line "Guess I shoulda been smarter" feel upbeat. That same feeling of actualization shines especially bright on the album's lead single, "Nu-Grape," which comes complete with saxophones, a driving piano line and an overall gospel vibe. It's rock from multiple eras mixed into moments of joy, defiance and acceptance. If you're concerned about the state of the world—and who isn't?—then Jump for Joy is certainly a reprieve that will let you see the other side for a moment.

— Mike Ayers, Relix

Product Details

The songs that make up Jump for Joy the sharpest and most autobiographical that MC Taylor has written under the Hiss Golden Messenger name read as a sort of epistolary, postcards between the present-day songwriter and his alias Michael Crow, a teenaged dreamer very much like Taylor himself, who trips his way through the 14 tunes that make up the record. Produced by MC Taylor and engineered by longtime Hiss Golden Messenger compatriot Scott Hirsch over two weeks in the late fall of 2022 at the fabled Sonic Ranch studio in Tornillo, TX, just a short walk from the Mexican border, Jump for Joy dances with joyful, spontaneous energy that feels like a fresh chapter in the Hiss Golden Messenger oeuvre. Taylor is accompanied throughout the album by his crack live band: guitarist Chris Boerner, bassist Alex Bingham, keyboardist Sam Fribush, and drummer Nick Falk, a collection of musicians that have helped make Hiss Golden Messenger's live performances legendary affairs.