Hiss Golden Messenger Announces New Album ‘I’m People’ & Shares New Single

Hiss Golden Messenger, the project led by North Carolina singer-songwriter MC Taylor, is set to release a new album, May 1st, 2026, titled I’m People via Chrysalis Records. The announcement comes with the release of the lead single, “In The Middle Of It,” a track Taylor describes as a “Santa Fe song.”

I’m People follows 2023’s Jump for Joy, an album that garnered critical acclaim. The new record, according to Taylor, delves into the complexities of modern life, exploring themes of connection and disconnection, hope and uncertainty, and the search for meaning amidst the everyday. He frames the album as an examination of “running towards and away from things, about reasonable and realistic hope and expectations, about having babies, getting older, love and lust and luck and music.”

“In The Middle Of It” offers a glimpse into the sonic landscape of I’m People. Taylor composed the song while staying at the El Rey Court hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, drawing inspiration from the surrounding environment and a sense of expansive, almost cinematic, isolation. He cites the imagery of Highway 10 stretching through the desert, the late-night radio broadcasts of Art Bell’s Coast to Coast AM, and the stark beauty of the desert landscape as key influences. The song evokes a feeling of being suspended between places and states of mind, a theme that appears to run throughout the album.

The lyrical content, as suggested by Taylor’s description, is deeply personal yet broadly relatable. He speaks of “ghosts and UFOs and vagabonds,” but also of more grounded experiences – relationships, family, and the passage of time. This juxtaposition of the mystical and the mundane is a hallmark of Taylor’s songwriting, creating a sense of both wonder and melancholy.

Taylor’s approach to songwriting, as evidenced in the album description, isn’t about offering easy answers or simplistic narratives. Instead, he seems interested in holding space for contradictions and ambiguities. He describes the songs as being about “solitude and heartbreak and poverty of the spirit, and maybe community as some kind of antidote for these particular types of sicknesses.” This suggests an album that is both introspective and outward-looking, grappling with individual struggles within a larger social context.

The album’s tracklist reveals further insight into its thematic concerns:

1. In the Middle of It
2. Who You Gonna Run To?
3. Shaky Eyes
4. Mercy Ave
5. I’m People
6. Seneca (Time Is a Mother, Baby)
7. Last Orders
8. Gabriel
9. Heavy World
10. Alright
11. Spirit Cat
12. Depends on the River

Titles like “Heavy World” and “Shaky Eyes” hint at the emotional weight of the album, while “Spirit Cat” and “Depends on the River” suggest a more fluid, intuitive approach to life. The inclusion of “Seneca (Time Is a Mother, Baby)” is particularly intriguing, potentially referencing the philosophical writings of Seneca the Younger, a Stoic philosopher who explored themes of mortality and resilience.

Following the album’s release, Hiss Golden Messenger will embark on a U.S. Tour in the fall. The tour dates include stops in Denver, Colorado (September 24th), Beaver Creek, Colorado (September 25th), Aspen, Colorado (September 26th), Solana Beach, California (September 29th), Los Angeles, California (October 2nd), Healdsburg, California (October 6th), Portland, Oregon (October 9th), Seattle, Washington (October 10th and October 11th), Minneapolis, Minnesota (October 14th), Newport, Kentucky (October 16th), Louisville, Kentucky (October 17th), Atlanta, Georgia (October 18th), Ardmore, Pennsylvania (November 4th), Woodstock, New York (November 5th), New York, New York (November 6th), Washington, D.C. (November 7th), Cambridge, Massachusetts (November 9th), Ann Arbor, Michigan (November 11th), and Chicago, Illinois (November 12th).

I’m People appears to be a continuation of Taylor’s exploration of Americana and folk traditions, but with a renewed focus on the complexities of the human condition. The album’s themes and lyrical content suggest a work that is both deeply personal and universally resonant, offering a thoughtful and nuanced perspective on life in the 21st century.