Quietly Blowing It

by Hiss Golden Messenger

Overview

M.C. Taylor, the vocalist and songwriter behind Hiss Golden Messenger, was struggling with some heavy emotional baggage when he was making 2019's Terms of Surrender, written and recorded as he grieved the death of his father and experienced a deep slide into depression. A little more than six months after the album was released, the rest of the world sunk into the doldrums as a global pandemic and a divisive culture held sway, and it's comforting that Taylor is here to commiserate with us all. 2021's Quietly Blowing It was written between March and June 2020, when Taylor spent his days in a tiny home studio with his guitar and his thoughts. Without dealing with the specifics of the litany of disasters that dominated that year, the tenor of this album reflects a world that struggles to understand just what's going on and why. The uphill battle of simply getting by informs "Hardlytown," the growing divide between the haves and have nots is at the core of "Mighty Dollar," mortality and survival walk side by side in "Sanctuary," and the struggle to keep hoping without knowing if it will ever pay off is the theme behind "If It Comes in the Morning." Quietly Blowing It is the work of a man who has far more questions than answers, and he's sadly short on concrete advice at a time when we could all use it. But while the lyrics of these songs confront the realities of a cruel world, the music is there to offer all the solace Taylor knows how to give. The melodies are not always upbeat, but they have the warmth and determined compassion of a hug from an old friend, and the arrangements dress the tunes in sounds that recall the rootsy end of '70s soft rock but with an emotional eloquence that's often very beautiful, even when his characters are chasing a happiness that's out of their grasp. On Quietly Blowing It, M.C. Taylor reminds us he knows how we feel, and that he feels the same way; perhaps that helps only so much, but there's a lot to be said for a friendly voice during a hard time, and that's just what this album delivers. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	06/25/2021
Label:	Merge
UPC:	0673855075518
Rank:	6102

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Hiss Golden Messenger   Primary Artist
Buddy Miller   Guitar (Electric)
Scott Hirsch   Synthesizer,Lap Steel Guitar
Brevan Hampden   Drums,Percussion
Stuart Bogie   Saxophone
Matt McCaughan   Drums,Percussion,Synthesizer
Chris Boerner   Guitar (Electric)
Matt Douglas   Saxophone
Griffin Goldsmith   Vocals
James Wallace   Piano
Taylor Goldsmith   Vocals
Devonne Harris   Piano,Clavinet,Wurlitzer,Organ (Hammond)
Sonyia Turner   Vocals
Josh Kaufman   Mandolin,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Alex Bingham   Bass,Synthesizer
Zach Williams   Vocals

Technical Credits

Frank Myers   Photography
D. James Goodwin   Photography
Anais Mitchell   Composer
Luc Suer   Assistant Engineer
Buddy Miller   Group Member
Gregory Alan Isakov   Composer
Scott Hirsch   Mixing,Engineer,Group Member
Brevan Hampden   Group Member
Stuart Bogie   Group Member
Allison Green   Photography
Matt McCaughan   Group Member
Chris Boerner   Engineer,Mastering,Group Member
Matt Douglas   Group Member
Griffin Goldsmith   Group Member
M.C. Taylor   Composer
Daniel Murphy   Design Assistant
James Wallace   Group Member
Taylor Goldsmith   Group Member
Darryl Norsen   Design
Graham Tolbert   Photography
Devonne Harris   Group Member
Anthony Mulcahy   Photography
Clay Hickson   Illustrations
Sonyia Turner   Group Member
Josh Kaufman   Group Member
Chris Frisina   Cover Photo
Alex Bingham   Group Member
Zach Williams   Group Member
Mark Alt   Photography