Hiss Golden Messenger, aka M.C. Taylor, announced his ninth studio album, Hallelujah Anyhow, about a month ago. As its September 22nd release date creeps closer and closer, Taylor has shared a pair of comforting tracks from the record: “Domino (Time Will Tell)” and “When The Wall Comes Down.”
In a recent interview, Taylor said that “Domino (Time Will Tell),” an upbeat, Springsteen-inspired rocker, is about how traveling the world over the years has made him realize that at their core, people are basically the same:
“‘Domino’ is an acknowledgment that what I do for a living is, on its face, funny. But this life has a pull for me; traveling for a living has been existentially good. It’s hard, and hard things are good, I think. When you travel a lot, so many perceived differences between people are flattened, and you realize how small the world is, and how everybody wants the same things — love, warmth, shelter, food, happiness. Things that are simple in description but also deeply rich and, for many, hard to get at. ‘Domino’ is also just a riff on just how long I’ve been traveling — about 25 years — with very little to show for it until very recently. I’m tremendously fortunate in that way.”
“When The Wall Comes Down,” meanwhile, slows things down as more of an alt-country album closer that we had unknowingly already gotten a small taste of, when he shared some of the song’s lyrics as part of the mysterious album announcement.
Hallelujah Anyhow comes out on September 22 via Merge Records. Find the tracklist below.
01. “Jenny of the Roses”
02. “Lost Out in the Darkness”
03. “Jaw”
04. “Harder Rain”
05. “I Am the Song”
06. “Gulfport You’ve Been on My Mind”
07. “John the Gun”
08. “Domino (Time Will Tell)”
09. “Caledonia, My Love”
10. “When the Wall Comes Down”
He also has a bunch of tour dates coming through the end of the year:
09/14 – Nashville, TN @ Americanafest
09/15-17 – Bristol, VA @ Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion
09/16-17 – Atlanta, GA @ Midtown Music Festival
09/19 – Miami, FL @ American Airlines Arena*
09/20 – Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena*
09/21 – Orlando, FL @ Amway Center*
10/14 – Columbia, SC @ Jam Room Music Festival
10/20 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
10/21 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar
10/22 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Hi-Fi
10/23 – St. Louis, MO @ Old Rock House
10/24 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
10/26 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
10/27 – Eau Claire, WI @ The Halls at Lismore
10/29 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
10/30 – Denver, CO @ The Bluebird Theater
11/02 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
11/03 – Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore Cabaret
11/04 – Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown
11/05 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
11/07 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
11/08 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
11/10 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
11/11 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
11/14 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda
11/15 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
11/16 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
11/17 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s
11/18 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
11/19 – Decatur, GA @ Eddie’s Attic
11/30 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom
12/01 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom
12/06 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
12/07 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
12/08 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
12/09 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live
12/11 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
