Hiss Golden Messenger – I’m People – Album Review
by Cathy Brown

MC Taylor (who has performed as Hiss Golden Messenger since 2008) has always had a gift for making music that feels lived-in and warm. On I’m People, his first album for Chrysalis and the follow-up to 2023’s Jump for Joy, that warmth deepens into something even more inviting. Recorded with co-producer and frequent collaborator Josh Kaufman (of Bonny Light Horseman) at Dreamland, a decommissioned church outside Woodstock, NY, the record wraps itself in a rich, analogue glow that instantly evokes the golden haze of 1970s singer-songwriter and country-rock classics.

“In the Middle of It”, the opening track and first single from the album, oozes with a country-rock vibe that permeates the rest of the record.  Sitting comfortably at the intersection of Americana, folk and rock, the rhythm section is loose, the guitars shimmering, and the music infused with the spirit of Laurel Canyon and Muscle Shoals.

Tracks like “Last Orders” and “Spirit Cat” lean into a bluesy, almost psychedelic feel with a soulful, gritty edge. “Shaky Eyes” swings with a Billy Joel-style piano, strong narrative storytelling, and a wry, conversational charm. Bruce Hornsby’s fingerprints are unmistakable on “Mercy Avenue,” his harmonic turns giving the tune a dignified Southern lilt that could have wandered right off Harbor Lights. “Alright” and “Seneca” are more unmistakably country, prominently featuring slide guitar and fiddle.

The title track, “I’m People,” is the record’s moral and musical centrepiece — part hymn, part rallying cry, a gentle exhortation for connection in a fractured world. It’s classic Taylor: clear-eyed, soulful, and steeped in the spiritual politics of ordinary life.

The album closes on a transcendent note with the piano-led ballad “Depends on the River.” Featuring backing vocals from Sam Beam (Iron & Wine), the song drifts into a roomy, natural arrangement that carries strong echoes of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks. There’s a beautiful looseness here—brushed drums and gently unfolding melodies that build with the layers and sense of the best gospel music.

Throughout I’m People the co-writing and co-production input from Josh Kaufman helps give the music an even more lived-in, ensemble feel. The arrangements breathe with empathetic playing. The guest musicians like Hornsby, Beam, and others (including Marcus King, Sara Watkins, and Amy Helm) slot in seamlessly, never feeling gimmicky and never overpowering Taylor’s intimate and soulful vision.

In the end, I’m People is exactly what its title suggests: a loose-limbed and exuberant record about being human together. If Jump for Joy was a return to form, I’m People is confirmation (if it were needed) that MC Taylor is one of the most consistently compelling songwriters working today.