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Naturally Hayden
By Chris Whibbs
For those keeping count, In Field & Town is the third album title referencing nature, but don’t mistake this for some kind of overarching theme to the Toronto-based Hayden’s music. It just might be where he feels most comfortable. “I’ve always felt like writing songs when I left the city,” he explains. “Whether it’s camping or going up to someone’s cottage or just being away from everything, that’s the time when I actually felt like writing something down or picking my guitar and singing something. With this record, I was actually in a place like that for a long period of time.”
Most of this record was recorded in a northern “undisclosed location,” but recording away from the city was the only deliberate decicion made in its recording. Even the prominent use of piano to Hayden’s usually acoustic guitar-dominated songs was completely by accident. “I had a really nice old upright piano, it sounded beautiful and I wanted to play it all the time,” Hayden says. “That’s why there are more piano songs on this record because I was physically at that instrument more and liked being there. Not a grand scheme of more piano — that’s just how it happened.”
In the end, Hayden’s sparse arrangements and earnest vocals connect so well because they feel so innate. To this, Hayden definitely agrees. “I’m just trying to find the best kind of feel and I’m trying to find what performance feels the most natural. When you’re recording it’s hard, when you know the tape’s rolling or the computer’s on, to ‘get’ that emotional version of a song that you would normally play if it was late one night and you were not being recorded.”
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Vampire Weekend Welcome the Clichés
 “I think we get asked more about African music, the way we dress, and then us going to Columbia. I think those are our three clichés at this point,” admits Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio with a cocktail of sarcasm and laughter. Acknowledging three clichés the press has been fixating on isn’t som...Read More
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Lupe Fiasco Is Not Cool
 Lupe Fiasco is excited. It’s been a couple of days since he was nominated for a Grammy for “Daydreaming,” a song from his 2006 debut album Food and Liquor and a few more days until his sophomore record The Cool hits. But in this moment all the Chicago MC can think about is the future a...Read More
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Steve Reid’s Rhythm Methods
 Steve Reid exudes positive energy. Over the phone he is animated, enthusiastic, humble and philosophical. His effusive personality courses through his drum set, with a style built on experiences at Motown, and with Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman and Fela Kuti. The best aspects of his recent collaborat...Read More
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Able Baker Fox Hear Voices
 “I honestly feel like this is more of a return to the kind of music that our bands got known for in the first place,” says Ben Reed, bassist and vocalist for Able Baker Fox. For Reed and his band-mates, which include brother Mike, Jeff Gensterblum, and Nathan Ellis, this is something of a weighty st...Read More
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Magnetic Fields Feeds Back
 Stephin Merritt likes a good metaphor as much as the next guy; in fact, his songs are loaded with them. But when he christened the Magnetic Fields’ eighth album Distortion, he was being strictly literal.
“Originally, we had two different titles that were not about the sound of the re...Read More
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Being Fond of Tigers
 Although it’s not apparent on their records or when they blast into songs live, there’s a good chance that Fond of Tigers don’t really know what they’re doing. The Vancouver-based, seven-man band is a powerful new force in the hazy realm of post-rock/jazz occupied by Do Make Say Think, Tortoise, and...Read More
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Shot in 1981 for German TV series Rockpalast, Are You Ready doesn't showcase the late Phil Lynott and company at their peak, but this DVD still rocks. The popular notion about Ireland's Thin Lizzy is that the band declined after the 1978 landmark double album, Live and Dangerous...
Full Review
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