Hayden just needs to know one thing: Are We Good?
That’s the title of the Toronto singer-songwriter’s latest studio album, and it’s a fair question. After all, it’s been nearly eight years since his last album — though not for want of effort. During his time away, Hayden — whose last name is Desser — wrote and recorded about 60 songs in Skyscraper National Park, the studio on the top floor of his home. But it wasn’t until he hooked up with new collaborators and old friends like Leslie Feist and The National’s Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner that he was finally able to get out of his attic — and his own head — to release Are We Good, which delivers more of the introspective indie-folk ballads his fans know and love. A few weeks before the album arrived, Hayden Zoomed in from that home studio to talk about fleeing convicts, scraping rust, wearing his heart on his sleeve and more. Enjoy.
