Absolute Torpor and Twang

With so many musical acts broadcasting their every move over Twitter, it's refreshing when an artist has the temerity to launch an album with minimal fanfare. Such is the case with The Place Where We Lived, the sixth studio album released early this summer from the press-wary Hayden Desser.

Hayden made some big waves in the Canadian musical soundscape in 1996 with his raw, basement-recorded debut Everything I Long For. The record started a bidding war and two years later Hayden's woodsy, narrative-heavy sophomore disc The Closer I Get was released under Universal Canada.

Either one should have cemented him as Canada's next plaid-clad troubadour, but instead, perhaps of his own volition, Hayden has remained largely a cult figure. He skirts the press by keeping interviews to a minimum and releasing music on his own distribution label, Hardwood Records. The label has always retained a roster of one, but in 2005 Hayden released the eponymous album by his touring mates and now backing band, Cuff the Duke.

The whiskey-soaked twang of Cuff the Duke is all over The Place Where We Lived, and although country is a departure for Hayden -- he's more laryngitic lumberjack than crooning cowpoke -- sometimes the lone wolf can benefit by traveling in a pack, and Cuff the Duke's bucolic influence is a welcome one.

The Place Where We Lived is a breakup album, but it manages to curtail the sometimes-overbearing melancholia of Hayden's previous output. "The Valley" is heavy on pedal steel and makes a nice complement to The Closer I Get's saturnine lullaby, "Instrumental With Mellotron". "Dilapidated Heart" is a down-tempo kiss off that mourns past glories and "Let's Break Up" is a simple ode to an enervated couple.

The haunting bass line on "Dilapidated Heart" comes courtesy of Hayden's friend and fellow Torontonian, Howie Beck. Beck has a quiet music career of his own -- he's released four critically acclaimed albums and produced two for Broken Social Scene member Jason Collett. No doubt it was Beck's influence that pushed Hayden to release such a quick follow-up to 2008's In Field & Town -- fans are used to counting the years between records.

The Place Where We Lived carries on Hayden's quiet storytelling tradition, but it's during live shows when the raconteur really emerges and his faithful fans are treated to what feels less like stage banter and more like pillow talk. With a live show that can't be missed and six consistently good records, I have a feeling Hayden's fans will follow him for years to come, even if his last album didn't trend on Twitter.