Skyscraper National Park

• Track Listing

Hayden skyscraper national park Hayden breaks his 3-year silence. Skyscraper National Park is the welcome return from self-imposed exile. Critically acclaimed yet commercially overlooked, Hayden's path is as storied as it is unconventional. In 1992, Hayden first begins writing and recording his own material at home on a 4-track. He creates his own label, Hardwood, and spends the next three years releasing 7 singles, EPs and his first album. Major label interest follows and Hayden moves out of basement recordings and into the studio. In 1996, Hayden is declared 'vital' by the taste-makers at SPIN magazine and Everything I Long For is proclaimed by Jerry Seinfeld to be his favorite album of the year. Cult status is cemented with Hayden's contribution of the title track to Steve Buscemi's film, Trees Lounge. Hayden releases The Closer I Get in 1998 and tours for 8 months across Canada, the United States and Japan. As the label he had signed to in the U.S. (Outpost/Geffen) dissolves, Hayden himself disappears into the ether. The interim has found Hayden occupying mythical status, where he has been subject of Bigfoot-like sightings and rumours of activity. His fans have stubbornly refused to accept his absence and optimistically speculated that there was a new release around the corner. This belief proved true as, in 2001, Hayden responded to his artistic voice and began recording songs anew. Hayden prefers to rely on his instincts and do what comes most naturally. Honesty is the guiding principal of his art - there are no tricks or gimmicks. Skyscraper National Park (Badman Recording Co.) occupies a diverse landscape: raw and bleak, yet warm and bright at once. Characteristically, Hayden chooses to speak little of his music, confessing that he is most comfortable expressing himself in his songs, where he is able to present himself most accurately. From a high falsetto to a low growl, from a distant piano and thin guitar to lush strings and horns, Hayden traverses the span of wide-open spaces to solitary introspection. There is heartbreak and there is comfort. There is light and there is shadow. The misconceptions of a soul that is troubled and moody are dispelled by Hayden's light touch and easy sense of humor.