Will Rick Ross or Katy Perry guest? Only time will tell. M.C. Taylor reveals some surprising inspirations in an eloquent “Writer of the Week”  interview in American Songwriter magazine:

“I write songs for my son and my wife and friends, and for what portions there are of my faith. I keep a Bible close at hand; it’s an important book full of lessons and folly and jokes. I look for strong melodic inspiration everywhere; I hear it most in contemporary pop music on the radio when I’m driving. We, as crafters of melody, should be listening to more Rick Ross and Katy Perry.”

Yes, the new songs are sounding as heavy, eclectic, and complex as that–rhythmically dynamic and lyrically bleak. Look for the new record in late Winter or early Spring on Paradise of Bachelors.

In other HGM news, the Independent Weekly just debuted an appropriately nostalgic and paternal new video for “Blue Country Mystic”:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wASmkiC_K9I&w=420&h=315]

Record Collector magazine has this to say about Poor Moon:

“They may use cellos and string song lines along tropes familiar to Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings, but these guys are hardcore in their own right, with Hirsch spinning his melodic ideas against Taylor unique crackle of a voice… It’s pretty rare to hear a band tackle states of distress and salvation with such grace, but Hiss Golden Messenger are no ordinary outfit.”

Wait until you hear the new one.