Sound Salvation Army

The king of stately, pastoral album art returns!

Little more than a year has passed since Hayden Desser released the very Hayden-like In Field and Town. Like most Hayden albums it was kind of (really) sad and mostly about lady troubles (that is to say trouble with ladies). But it also featured a few of the brightest moments of his career to date as well: “Lonely Security Guard” was a lovely, upbeat character piece about a security guard whose real passion is origami and “Did I Wake Up Beside You?” — while an absolute lyrical downer — contained a chorus with a melody that is downright ebullient, especially for Hayden. After five albums of mostly misery, it was quite nice to see. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of it.

Enter The Place Where We Lived, an entirely new joint written on the road as Hayden and his mates in Cuff The Duke toured Canada and the U.S., opening for Feist and the National. Its hard to say if Hayden is loosening up on this record, but there are moments that definitely feel like he’s progressing very slowly towards showing some more of the levity and sense of humour he has displayed on stage.

It starts with the opening title track, which bobs along with an occasional guitar riff that is somewhat reminiscent of surf rock, or at least what might result from a surf guitarist listening to too many sad Hayden songs. That is to say its a little bit subdued. But the song on the

The real gem is “Let’s Break Up,” a tale of a “half-glass and…a sad sack” who both know the end is nigh, but only one is willing to admit it. Bolstered by an ebullient walking bassline, the half-glass pleads with the sad sack to cut the chord and let him start moving on. The Duke-sters provide a great don’t-call-it-country shuffle-and-stomp backing track and prop up Hayden’s lilting melody with a delectable high harmony that injects something entirely new into the singer’s oeuvre.

On the whole, however, there’s a lot of the slow, somber, acoustic songs that have been featured on his releases since forever. I’m not suggesting that when you do something exceptionally well you should force yourself outside of that comfort zone, but it seems telling that the most thrilling standout tracks on Hayden’s last few releases aren’t cut from his usual cloth.

 

 Hayden - Let's Break Up [3:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Hayden - Dilapidated Heart [5:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hayden’s CDs are far more reasonably-priced than his vinyl, but both are available from MapleMusic’s website. Dang ol’ iTunes has it too.

Pat entries Canadian content, Cuff The Duke, Hardwood Records, Hayden, indie rock, singer/songwriter

So about a week or so ago I had the immense pleasure of seeing Neil Young, Death Cab For Cutie, Feist, and Hayden all live in concert in the span of two days.

They were separated into two different concerts, of course, but the unusual anomaly being that they played the same venue on back to back nights, leading to a very unusual juxtaposition.

Neil Young, of course, is a legendary musician with a long and storied history that is all but guaranteed to sell out every venue he wishes to set up his pipe organ in. Feist is an emerging artist that has had her first slight break into the mainstream and is obviously doing her best to try and figure out where she’s fitting in the grand scheme of live settings.

Death Cab For Cutie served as a fairly big-time opener for our small city, which is something we aren’t entirely used to here. In fact, from the floor it appeared there was a significant portion of the audience that was more psyched for them than Neil Young. Their set was serviceable, thankfully relying more on guitar songs than the weepy, piano-based songs that have permeated their last couple albums. Hell, the second song they played was “We Laugh Indoors” from the drastically under-rated the Photo Album. The only thing missing was what I consider one of the finest lyrical pieces of the last ten years, that album’s standout “Styrofoam Plates.” Dig it below.

Mr. Young and his band took the stage a short time later, and I wonder what they were thinking. The Brandt Centre is I believe just 6,000 seats, undoubtedly a fraction of the size Young and Crazy Horse have played over the years but sold out and packed to the gills nonetheless. Granted, Crazy Horse was not in for this tour; Young instead was backed up by a small five-piece combo including his wife. From the drop of the hat, Young laid out the plan for the evening: rock the lid off the place like he was 25 again and didn’t have a potentially-deadly brain aneurysm three years ago. Seriously, he played the guitar like he was just coming up, handling nearly every solo in a set heavily-slanted towards the rock and roll numbers that have dominated much of his career. I wish I could give you an idea of a set list, but by the time “Keep On Rocking In The Free World” came around my mind was sort of shattered (speaking of which, I finally get that song; after hearing it live in 2008 I swear it’s just as relevant as it was in 1989 or at any time since). The only thing that could have made the show more enjoyable was if there wasn’t a bunch of old people drunk off their asses and chattering ceaselessly right beside us. Seriously, nerdy accountants: don’t go to rock and roll concerts unless you’re ready and willing to appreciate the living legend that is performing for you.

The very next night we were in the same venue for Feist’s big (Regina) arena debut. As I mentioned, she’s in a tricky spot; despite her rising profile she only managed to sell about half the seats in the place and for those that were there the previous night it looked very, very empty.

Renowned Canadian songwriter and baritone-throated crooner Hayden warmed up the comparatively sparse crowd with a set that was about as light as the frequently-maudlin troubadour can likely manage. Supported by members of the also terrific Ontario roots-ish rock band Cuff The Duke, he switched from electric guitars to piano to acoustic guitars, matching his gentle songs with story-telling introductions relating awkward meetings with fans on this summer’s folk festival circuit (among other topics, or course). As a long-time fan it was a treat to finally see him live, even if the audience wasn’t terribly receptive. Then again, it’s Regina so that should really not surprise me anymore.

I have to say however that Feist’s set was everything I could have expected from her and more. It was downright revelatory in it’s incredibly creative imagining of a live rock and roll light/video show. As her profile grows bigger her staging also grows, but she does it by minimizing. She began by running out on stage with just a simple candle-lit lantern before hiding behind a screen that was then back-lit by her gaffers, a tribute to her album cover. Later, a closed-circuit camera was projected onto the sixty-foot white screen at the back of the still-dark stage; using “night vision” it zoomed in on her shoes (on which a tribute to the Golden Mile Shopping Centre was written…she grew up her for a time) as she stomped and stomped until a spotlight came on above her. From there most of the show is powered only by a simple overhead projector, straight out of the classroom. Using paint, tiddlywinks, costume jewelry, and paper cut-outs they projected tableaus, pictures, dramatic renderings, and abstract interpretations of the lyrical content of the songs onto the huge screen. It was like watching an art project unfold before you, although you could easily argue that on the slower, gentler songs it became the entire focus while the songs sank into the background.

Her playing of course is flawless. Even with the slow, introspective songs that mark much of her albums, the rock and roll spirit is still burning deep within her. She played guitar through the entire set, which culminated with a roaring, extended version of her interpretation of the traditional “Sea Lion Woman.” It peaked with full-on power chord distortion, stomping percussion, and frantic caterwauling. It was awesome, to put it into one word.

An interesting exercise to take in on a single weekend, to be certain, but I’m feeling very confident in the state of Canadian music past and present. The creativity and energy of each show was overwhelming, each in its own way.

 

 Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Walk On [4:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Death Cab For Cutie - Styrofoam Plates [5:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Feist - Sea Lion Woman [3:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Hayden - Lonely Security Guard [4:27m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Neil Young’s various merchandisery can be followed in his official webstore.
The good Death Cab For Cutie albums are available via Barsuk Records, their once and future home.
Feist’s acclaimed releases are available through Arts & Crafts and their webstore.
Much of Hayden’s catalogue is for sale from Maple music.

Pat entries acoustic, Canadian content, Death Cab For Cutie, Feist, folk, Hayden, musical legend, Neil Young, rock