Hiss Golden Messenger’s “Heart Like a Levee” premieres via Rolling Stone Country; out Friday on Merge Records

HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER’S HEART LIKE A LEVEE PREMIERES VIA ROLLING STONE COUNTRY

HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW ALBUM OUT OCTOBER 7 ON MERGE RECORDS

WORLD TOUR SET FOR THIS FALL

“If you’re looking for the perfect soundtrack to the changing seasons, look no further than Hiss Golden Messenger’s Heart Like a Levee…[frontman MC Taylor’s] songs, created with help from members of Bon Iver
and Megafaun, are filled with longing and drive.”–Elle

“Taylor’s songs are the perfect Greek chorus, raw and emotional.”
Rolling Stone Country

 “The first song to be released from Hiss Golden Messenger’s sublime new record… isn’t Don Draper at Sally’s birthday party, freaking out as he realizes everything he’s lost. It’s the understanding that sacrifices worth making don’t feel like sacrifices at all.”–Pitchfork

“[a] bittersweet record.”
Consequence of Sound

image2-10Hiss Golden Messenger’s forthcoming record Heart Like a Levee is out everywhere October 7 on Merge Records. Rolling Stone Country is streaming the record in its entirety HERE, noting that, “Undercurrents of life, death, art and the struggle to reconcile it all animate the 11 vivid songs on Heart Like a Levee, a stately collection of gospelized country-soul…it’s a collection that feels lived-in and true to life.”

The group will embark on a world tour beginning October 14 in Asheville, NC. The tour will see Hiss Golden Messenger creative force M.C. Taylor and his band travel throughout North America before playing shows in the UK and Europe in December. See below for a complete list of dates.

The songs on Heart Like A Levee are immediate, dealing with themes that include leaving and returning, belief and trust, guilt, honesty and life on the road. Hiss Golden Messenger creative force M.C. Taylor says, “I wrote these songs during a time of transition and doubt. The process was raw, but also joyous. I spent a lot of time with these words and chords in all types of weather. In the end I learned more about myself making this record than any in the past, and that’s one important way for me to gauge whether an album was worth making.

I want to make records that feel both minor and major key at the same time; maybe ‘bittersweet’ is a good word for it. Life is simultaneously happy and sad at once and that’s how I want my records to feel. I think that’s how Heart Like a Levee feels.”

The highly anticipated release was self produced by Taylor and Bradley Cook and recorded in Durham, NC with Taylor’s close knit North Carolina collaborators: brothers Phil and Bradley Cook on piano and bass, Matt McCaughan on drums, Tift Merritt and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig on backing vocals and Matt Douglas and Michael Lewis on horns.

Preorder Heart Like a Levee on LP and CD in the Merge store, or digitally here. Double-disc deluxe versions include bonus album Vestapol, composed of eight previously unreleased songs performed and recorded almost entirely by M.C. Taylor in various motels on the road and at his home in Durham, North Carolina. Keep up with Hiss Golden Messenger on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

HEART LIKE A LEVEE TRACK LIST

1. Biloxi
2. Tell Her I’m Just Dancing
3. Heart Like a Levee
4. Like a Mirror Loves a Hammer
5. Smoky’s Song
6. Cracked Windshield
7. As the Crow Flies
8. Happy Day (Sister My Sister)
9. Say It Like You Mean It
10. Ace of Cups
11. Highland Grace

HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER ON TOUR:

Oct 14 Asheville, NC – Mothlight *
Oct 15 Nashville, TN – Exit/In ^
Oct 16 Atlanta, GA – Terminal West *
Oct 17 New Orleans, LA – Tipitina’s ^
Oct 18 Austin, TX – The Parish ^
Oct 21 Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar *
Oct 22 Los Angeles, CA – Bootleg Theater #
Oct 23 Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl (supporting Bon Iver)
Oct 25 San Francisco, CA – The Independent *
Oct 27 Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios *
Oct 29 Vancouver, BC – The Fox ^
Oct 30 Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern ^
Nov 01 Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room *
Nov 02 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater *
Nov 04 Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon ^
Nov 05 St. Paul, MN – Turf Club #
Nov 06 Chicago, IL – Old Town School of Folk #
Nov 07 Ferndale, MI – Loving Touch ^
Nov 09 Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern *
Nov 10 Montreal, QC – Bar le Ritz *
Nov 11 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground ^
Nov 12 Newtown, CT – Edmond Town Hall ^
Nov 13 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer *
Nov 15 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg #
Nov 17 Washington, DC – Rock & Roll Hotel ^
Nov 19 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
Dec 01 Antwerp, BE – De Roma
Dec 03 Brighton, UK – Bleach
Dec 04 Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
Dec 05 London, UK – Village Underground
Dec 07 Berlin, DE – Privat Club
Dec 08 Amsterdam, NE – Bitterzoet

# – with special guest Tift Merritt
* – with The Dead Tongues
^ – with Phil Cook

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