Hiss Golden Messenger performed Lateness of Dancers highlight “Southern Grammar” as a nine-piece on The Late Show with David Letterman last night. Which you can watch below.

A live version of the song opens the forthcoming Southern Grammar EP, to be released worldwide February 3, 2015, on Merge.

Frontman M.C. Taylor on the EP:

This three-song collection that we’re calling Southern Grammar is good for a few good reasons. It gives the song “Brother, Do You Know the Road?”—formerly an orphan tune with no fixed address—a proper physical home. It also offers up a song called “He Wrote the Book” that was a near-casualty from the Lateness of Dancers sessions. Incidentally—and this I didn’t realize until we had gathered the material for this record—“Brother, Do You Know the Road?” and “He Wrote the Book” share a lyric that goes:

And though the storm’s passed over
And the sun is in its place
It’s been a long time
And the rain, how I know it

Sometimes that feels just about as close to a summation of the HGM philosophy as I can get at. And this is the first and only time that I have ever shared words between two songs.

Finally, this version of “Southern Grammar” shows off the HGM road band, which includes Scott Hirsch, Phil Cook, Matt McCaughan, Matt Douglas, and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, who are all friends and inspirations. The fine, fine crew at WXPN in Philadelphia engineered the recording of this song and graciously agreed to let us use it for this record.

Hiss Golden Messenger has two full-band UK tours on the horizon beginning with a December run supporting Ben Howard. A full list of dates can be found below.

Hiss Golden Messenger on tour:
Dec 03 Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo*
Dec 04 Wolverhampton, UK – Civic Hall*
Dec 05 Birmingham, UK – Hare & Hounds
Dec 06 Edinburgh, UK – Usher Hall*
Dec 07 Dublin, IE – Olympia*
Dec 08 Dublin, IE – Olympia*
Dec 10 London, UK – O2 Academy Brixton*
Dec 11 London, UK – O2 Academy Brixton*
Dec 12 Middelburg, NL – De Spot
Dec 13 Den Haag, NL – State-X Festival
Dec 14 Borger, NL – Vanslag
Dec 15 Lisbon, PT – Musicbox
Dec 17 Brussels, BE – Forest National Club*
Dec 18 Amsterdam, NL – Heineken Music Hall*
Dec 19 Amsterdam, NL – Heineken Music Hall*
Dec 20 Amsterdam, NL – Heineken Music Hall*
Feb 06 Brighton, UK – Bleach
Feb 07 Sunderland, UK – Independent
Feb 08 Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
Feb 09 Glasgow, UK – Stereo
Feb 10 Manchester, UK – The Deaf Institute
Feb 11 Bristol, UK – The Lantern
Feb 12 London, UK – Bush Hall
Feb 13 Brussels, BE – AB
Feb 14 Rotterdam, NL – Rotown
Feb 15 Utrecht, NL – EKKO
Feb 17 Berlin, DE – Privat Club
Feb 18 Arhus, DK – Atlas
Feb 19 Gothenburg, SE – Pustervik
Feb 20 Oslo, NO – John Dee
Feb 21 Copenhagen, DK – Vega
*supporting Ben Howard