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HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER : I'M PEOPLE
- In the Middle of It
- Who You Gonna Run To?
- Shaky Eyes
- Mercy Avenue
- I'm People
- Seneca (Time is a Mother, Baby)
- Last Orders
- Gabriel
- Heavy World
- Alright and Then Some
- Spirit Cat
- Depends On The River
Label : Chrysalis
Release Date : May 1, 2026
Length : 44:54
Review (Bandcamp) : The brand-new album from Hiss Golden Messenger and the first release with Chrysalis Records. I’m People is a vivid, deeply human album born from a period of rupture, renewal, and vast American wandering. Written across Bolinas, the North Carolina Piedmont, and a Santa Fe motel room, the record traces the artist’s search for clarity through landscapes both external and internal. These songs move through heartbreak, aging, fatherhood, desire, disillusionment, and the hard-won hope that remains after the spirit has been scraped bare. Produced with Josh Kaufman at Dreamland, a decommissioned church outside Woodstock, the album carries the warmth of musicians playing live in a circle, stained-glass light filtering across guitars, drums, and upright bass. Contributions from Bruce Hornsby, Sam Beam, Marcus King, Sara Watkins, Amy Helm, Eric D. Johnson, and members of Dawes enrich a sound world that feels immediate, vulnerable, and fully alive. “I'm People is an intensely human record, and so one that needed to feel immediate, vulnerable, and fully dancing; something you could touch, sing along to, know about, recognize, relate with. I know what the record is to me and I bet it's not so dissimilar from what it's about to you, at least in the broad strokes: The heartbreak and exhilaration, the absolute black comedy of being a person on this razor's edge that is America circa 2025. What other choice do we have than to be hopeful?” - MC Taylor on I’m People. Hiss Golden Messenger is a Grammy nominated artist based in North Carolina, with multiple Album Of The Year and Best Americana Album awards, reaching #2 in the Americana Charts and performances and tours across the world, including the UK and Europe + performances on US TV; Late Night With Seth Myers.
Review (Spill Magazine) : I’m People is Hiss Golden Messenger’s 16th studio album, since their debut in 2008. M.C. Taylor (who really is Hiss Golden Messenger at this point) continues his slide into Americana music. In fact, to that point, Bruce Hornsby is a guest on the album, which is an indication that Taylor is shifting the sound a little bit for the band. In fact, the music drifts into the country music world as well. The music is acoustic based, with some support from a fiddle, bass and drum. The end result is a brilliant album, full of short stories that, together, create a wonderful book of exploration of the human condition. Some of the songs, like “Last Orders” and “Spirit Cat,” tip their hats to the older Hiss Golden Messenger sound and are more indie than Americana. It is a great to hear Taylor to revisit some older style and sounds, and as with every song on the album, features very strong lyrics. In terms of lyrics, the album musically takes the listener to upstate New York, to experience some for of hope in these somewhat turbulent times. Taylor is trying, with his words and melody, to tap into the human part of the listener. And it works on those levels. The songs have a beautiful flow and feeling to them, again, more Americana than in the past, but then, he is also expanding as he gets older. Hiss Golden Messenger still has the talent and ability to take their listeners on a journey, wherever they want to go. I’m People is a very personal album, yet extremely relatable. It is somewhat of a sparse album, both in production and in arrangements. But it really needs to be. It is beautifully produced, but far from slick. One look at the stark front cover provides the listener with a clue as to what they are in store for. The album holds together, not as a concept album, but an overall feeling and songs that tug burrow into the listener’s soul. Taylor’s voice is as brilliant as always, and he has surrounded himself with top notch players. I’m People is a brilliant album.
Review (No More Workhorse) : 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.