Hayden

Halfway through Hayden's new album, In Field and in Town, he bemoans the fact that he's no longer sad. But after more than a decade of producing clever, intimate, and, yes, sad lo-fi bedroom pop, something tells me that Hayden is not quite through with examining the sullen side of his psyche. The Toronto singer fills In Field and in Town with moody organs, insistent rhythms, and wandering bass lines, but the instrument that brings weight and poignancy to the music is his beautiful, lonesome, and, at times, quivering falsetto. His voice has that claustrophobic winter angst polished to a shine with the optimistic yearning for an early spring—the cathartic exercise of the sun-deprived. Touring with Hayden this summer is Haley Bonar, a local girl who's written a couple of sad songs herself.
Fri., June 27, 8 p.m., 2008