This time around the message is ‘joy’ for Hiss Golden Messenger

Hiss Golden Messenger is out on the road spreading the gospel of joy. Singer/songwriter M.C. Taylor and crew are supporting their most recent album, Jump for Joy, and the tone of the album is uplifting and happy.

“I knew that I wanted this record to be full of joy,” says Taylor, “because if we’re standing at some kind of finish line of human civilization — and I’m not saying that we are, but some days it sure feels that way — then I want to go out dancing.

“That’s what I wanted Jump for Joy to feel like: Dancing at the end of time. Laughing in the face of catastrophe.”

If by chance you’ve caught a glimpse of the video for the album’s first single, “Nu-Grape,” Taylor is definitely in a laughing mood — perhaps laughing at himself. In it, he dons a costume reminiscent of the old Fruit of the Loom® commercials — literally a bunch of grapes — to schlock a fabricated sugary beverage: Ol’ Grape soda. But as the lyric in the song says, “Don’t cry, it’s only a joke.”

The new Hiss record is a 180-degree change of direction from 2021’s Quitely Blowing It.

“That record was made during a time of absolute chaos — in the world and also in my brain,” Taylor told Rolling Stone referring to the pandemic and the subsequent shutdown that forced him to compose those songs in the sanctuary of his 8’x10’ home studio. “I can hear myself struggling on that record. I knew I needed to change it up. If every record felt like Quietly Blowing It, I don’t know that I would want to keep doing this.”

So while touring for that record in 2022, Taylor set out to compose a batch of songs with a completely different spirit.

“Woke up this morning, my God, I felt happy — what a strange sensation” — the opening line to “Shinbone,” which combined with its 1980s power-pop synth hook, captures that sentiment succinctly. According to Hiss Golden Messenger’s press site, “Shinbone” was written by Taylor following a prolonged bout of depression.

“I’ve struggled with depression for forever and it came to a head,” Taylor told Rolling Stone. “I was confused, and I’m still confused. But you’re aware of the confusion: do I grow despondent because I’m confused, or do I kind of celebrate it?”

Jump for Joy finds Taylor — together with guitarist Chris Boerner, bassist Alex Bingham, drummer Nick Falk, and keyboardist Sam Fribush — in a celebratory mood.

Shutter 16 will be covering the upcoming show at Turner Ballroom in Milwaukee.

Other upcoming tour dates:

Oct. 25 & 26 – The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA

Oct. 27 – Race Street Live, Holyoke, MA

Oct. 28 – Bar Le Ritz PDB, Montreal, QC

Oct. 29 – The Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON

Nov. 1 – El Club, Detroit, MI

Nov. 2 – Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI

Nov. 3 – Fine Line, Minneapolis, MN

Nov. 4 – Metro, Chicago, IL

More Tour Dates: https://www.hissgoldenmessenger.com/tour-dates-2

Tickets to the Milwaukee show: https://www.pabsttheatergroup.com/events/detail/hiss-golden-messenger-2023