Bad Debt by Hiss Golden Messenger was originally recorded in 2010 and released in limited run but became nearly impossible to get a hold of due to a storage warehouse fire. Three + years later, Carrboro’s Paradise of Bachelors label have re-issued Bad Debt with the addition of a few new tracks. In contrast to previous lushly orchestrated releases, Bad Debt was recorded very sparsely on a portable cassette recorder in M.C. Taylor’s kitchen giving the album a distant, faded and stripped down. The album is a collection of songs about faith, heartache, and desperation and while six of the 12 tracks appear on other HGM albums, they’re presented differently. For example, “Balthazar’s Song” which is also Poor Moon’s closing track, is slower and more dramatic here. Other standouts include: the introspective “The Serpent Is Kind (Compared To Man)”; the rhythmic cadence of “Drum”; the sobering “Jesus Shot Me In The Head”; and the touching tribute to a son, “Far Bright Star.” – Written by JFelton
SIMILAR | The Court & Spark, Golden Gunn, Steve Gunn, Mount Moriah, William Tyler