Spring is finally showering North Carolina with redbuds, jasmine blossoms, and pawpaw sprouts, and folks are out on their porches. So what a happy coincidence that the second vinyl edition of Hiss Golden Messenger’s Poor Moon is now available for purchase. (The first pressing is now completely, indubitably sold out.) Email us to buy a copy for $16, or wait until April 3rd, when we will have a few additional items of interest to HGM fans (hint: a handful of new pressings of out-of-print material, available on a first-come, first-served basis.) The LP will be available here on our product page as well as on our BRAND NEW BANDCAMP SITE, where we’ll be offering the entire PoB discography in physical and/or digital formats. Watch for updates there and on the PoB Facebook page, where you should go ahead and “like” us to receive occasional announcements.
Tompkins Square will reissue Poor Moon on CD April 17th (PoB is still your exclusive source for the vinyl version.) Check out their official announcement here, as well as the below evidence–a trailer featuring Hiss Golden Messenger headman M.C. Taylor as a Durham streetwalker, and a preview of the 45 of “Jesus Shot Me in the Head b/w Jesus Dub” that Tompkins Square will release on Record Store Day, April 21, 2012::::::::::::
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/37699563]
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/37532514]
More news and blues:
We’re honored to report that Poor Moon has been featured in The Oxford American–thanks, y’all! The Will Oldham comparison is certainly flattering:
“Some might draw comparisons between Taylor and Will Oldham, another roots/Americana music aficionado prone to adopting aliases, but ultimately, both artists are slippery and difficult to confine to categorization or comparison. The motivations for assuming these pseudonyms are consistent: Both artists are reluctant to take personal credit for projects that have different identities, contributors, and collaborators. That’s about where the similarities end, though. The two possess markedly different vocal styles. Taylor’s folky, roots-based musical interpretations also seem to have an inherent pop quality you typically won’t find in Oldham’s music.”
Have you heard the good news? HGM is going on tour with the legendary Michael Chapman this spring. We Bachelors have spent many late nights listening to Chapman’s instantly identifiable brand of virtuosic guitar melancholia, so we’re thrilled about this collaboration.
M.C. Taylor of HGM recently played some tunes and chatted with host Frank Stasio on NPR/WUNC’s program the State of Things. You can stream the archived program here–Mike’s on at the end, and he even premieres a new, gospel-oriented song.
Our friends at Art of the Rural have these kind words to say about our work, with flattering praise for both “Poor Moon” and David Lee, the subject of our first release:
“While we are currently in a golden age of reissues and unearthed music, with more and more coming out each week, what sets Said I Had a Vision apart is its combination of context (rural North Carolina, from the civil rights era to the Reagan era), the quality of its songwriting, and the absolute exuberance of the performances. Many such records have these qualities in unequal parts, but Said I Had A Vision contains songs that exceed the normal obscurity-fetish that similar records often cultivate. After I play this record through, I generally feel like everyone I know needs to hear these songs.”
We’re working hard on PoB-03, an exciting, first-ever reissue of significance to both late-60’s psychedelia and to the American Indian community of North Carolina. That’s all we will say for now–we’re about to send out the audio and artwork to the pressing plant, so expect the release in late May/early June–but here’s a photographic hint:::::::
