Hayden

Hayden Desser is a Canadian songwriter. Launched by a massive advertising campaign, Everything I Long For (Outpost, 1995) is a parade of cliches that would embarass even Michael Jackson. His baritone register is not exactly tuneful, and his lyrics are not exactly revelatory. The label would obviously like to label him as the new Beck, but the music is prime Neil Young (In September, My Parents House), with occasional touches of Tom Waits and the Pixies. Few singers can be so tedious as Hayden when he reflects on his own life, although emotional ballads like Skates and When This Is Over have their merits. This is the mainstream version of "lo-fi" pop. Without all the hype, hardly anybody would have reviewed this album.

Hayden was capable of more than mere imitation and showed it only once, on his second album. The Closer I Get (Outpost, 1996) is a punchier work, where Hayden impersonates Mellencamp more than he does Young (The Hazard Of Sitting Beneath Palm Trees).

Moving Careful (Sonic Unyon, 1997) leaves behind the old image, but the guy just isn't a good singer, or, for that matter, a good songwriter.

Skyscraper National Park (Badman, 2002) is a dark, brooding collection that hardly improves over its predecessors.

The problem with Hayden is that, the more intimate he gets, the least interesting his songs are. Elk-Lake Serenade (Badman, 2004) sounds very intimate. And very pointless. The music does not sustain the (depressed) lyrics, and the lyrics hardly captivate anyway.