Hiss Golden Messenger - Jump for JoyThe songs that make up Jump for Joy the sharpest and most autobiographical that MC Taylor has written under the Hiss Golden Messenger name read as a sort of epistolary, postcards between the present day songwriter and his alias Michael Crow, a teenaged dreamer very much like Taylor himself, who trips his way through the 14 tunes that make up the record. Produced by MC Taylor and engineered by longtime Hiss Golden Messenger compatriot Scott Hirsch over

making it all the more imperative he crack the case

which included '(A Case Of) Too Much Love Makin'

airy delivery manages to exude both thoughtful introspection and carefree abandon all at once

The Communards straddled pop and the political

aiming to unite and construct bridges through surfing and the ocean

it's got a natural warmness that combines perfectly with Ska music

The results are simultaneously reverent and authentic

But La Maddalena is an oratorio volgare

as long as he gets paid

while reminiscent of Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster is easily distinguishable as his and his alone

Trading the campy kid-friendly surrealism of the earlier films for a darker

" the filtered synth hijinks of "Afterhours