If one lyric encapsulates Hiss Golden Messenger’s ninth album, it’s “Step back, Jack, from the darkness,” from closing track “When the Wall Comes Down.” After the guilt and reflection of 2016’s Heart Like a Levee, frontman M.C. Taylor is seeking the bright side—with his band’s bluesy Americana sounding richer than ever. Harmonica bursts like sunlight through “Lost out in the Darkness,” the brass-fired “Domino (Time Will Tell)” declares, “I feel like my luck is turning” with an exhilaratingly funky kick, and “Harder Rain”’s gorgeous, worn-in country soul preaches the healing power of love.
- 2023
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