It only took this record one listen before it earned a top spot on my personal list of favorites from this year: Hiss Golden Messenger's Lateness of Dancers sets the pace for alt-country done right. Without delay, track one takes the listener for a stroll over an easy two-chord progression–an acoustic guitar and Hammond organ assume the rhythm, and modest lead guitar and female harmonies work to top off the high end, all while a straightforward country beat and an electric bassline found the whole thing. The hook lyrics here are simple and optimistic enough to make the listener forget about anything: "She was beautiful / It was circumstance / Watch the boat on the water learn to dance."
Somehow the whole aesthetic of Lateness of Dancers pertains to the soon-to-be-changing season: the folk, country, and soulful tones; lyrics about harvest and whiskey; bare trees resting in fog under a rainbow (pictured on the album art), and the album was even recorded around this time last year under a tin-roof barn near Hillsborough, North Carolina.
The album's title alludes to a short story written by 20th century American novelist Eudora Welty.
The duo is fronted by music industry veteran M.C Taylor, whose vocals you might recognize from his work with The Court & Spark (track one mentioned above was actually originally recorded by this project and featured on the soundtrack belonging to the 2004 film Baptists at Our Barbeque). Scott Hirsch is his musical counterpart, currently and historically: Hirsch also participated in The Court & Spark, and before then he joined Taylor in a hardcore band called Ex-Ignota. The rest of the band featured on Lateness of Dancers is the product of collaboration with Phil and Brad Cook of Megafaun, Nashville guitarist William Tyler, and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig of Mountain Man who is the person responsible for the beautiful backing vocals across the record.
Taylor's voice makes me nostalgic for Neil Young's drug days while the lyrical content and instrumentation directly reminds me of Jason Molina's Songs: Ohia. These songs are generally electric guitar, pedal steel, and Rhoads keyboard heavy. I couldn't ask for better instrumentation.
The Durham duo releases their fifth full-length studio album (and Merge records debut) today.
Listen to "Saturday's Song" below via Soundcloud.
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