Hayden Announces THE RECENT PAST Album, Shares "Time Has Been More Kind"

Hayden has announced the release of his tenth studio album, The Recent Past, and shared its debut single, 'Time Has Been More Kind'. The Recent Past is available on vinyl at record stores and online through the Hardwood Records shop, with a digital release of the album to follow on November 6th. Fans were treated to a preview of the album at Hayden's sold-out residency at Toronto's Revue Cinema that wrapped up this week. The Recent Past is the first new album released on Hayden's revived, iconic Hardwood Records.

The release of The Recent Past signals two significant creative shifts for Hayden. For the first time in many years he relinquished mixing duties, handing them over instead to Grammy-winning engineer Tom Schick, whose work with Jeff Tweedy, Wilco, Mavis Staples and Willie Nelson had long been an inspiration. The Recent Past also marks the revival of Hayden's own label Hardwood Records, which he set up back in 1994 to release his debut cassette tape 'In September' and went on to welcome artists such as Basia Bulat, Lou Canon and Cuff the Duke to its roster.

Speaking on the first single, 'Time Has Been More Kind,' Hayden says, 'It is perhaps the most 'country' sounding song I've ever recorded. One of my favourite concerts was country legend Ray Price opening for Willie Nelson at Massey Hall in 2009. He played with a classic old school ensemble including pedal steel and double fiddles. It was perfection. To match the regretful, longing, rosy retrospection of the song's narrative, I tried to channel that feeling and atmosphere on this recording. I enlisted some of our county's best musicians to come by the house, Adam Hindle on brushed drums, Miranda Mulholland on fiddles, Matt Kelly on pedal steel and Ben Whitely on upright bass all added their magic.'

Recorded in Hayden's Skyscraper National Park home studio in Toronto, every song on this album began on the same weathered 1940s Heintzman piano that's lived at his family's Grey County cottage for more than twenty-five years. The instrument has become as recognizable as Hayden's voice, warm, slightly uneven, tuned towards honesty more than perfection.

Despite its title, The Recent Past isn't nostalgic so much as observant. It reflects on the strange feeling of longing for a time that wasn't all that long ago, but it's also about trying to stay rooted in the present while everything around us speeds up. The realization that today's routine may someday become the part of your life you miss most.

For more than thirty years, Hayden has built a body of work from moments in life that can easily pass unnoticed. Taken together, his ten studio albums amount to an ongoing conversation about family, memory, love, loss, absurdity, and the strange beauty hidden inside ordinary days. The Recent Past provides a rich addition to Hayden's continuing search for unsung moments.

Alongside his wife Christie, Hayden is co-founder of Dream Serenade, the annual benefit concert at Massey Hall to celebrate and support children with exceptionalities, their families and caregivers. Last year, the show was nominated for Philanthropic Event of the Year by the Canadian Live Music Awards. Hayden and Christie have recently been awarded Meritorious Service Medals from the Governor General of Canada for their work with Dream Serenade. This year's 12th Annual Dream Serenade is Saturday October 24th.

The Recent Past is available on vinyl today via Hardwood Records Shop and on digital November 6th worldwide.

Tracklist

This Beautiful Day

Bombs Away

Stardust Or Avalon

Outta Nashville

Field of Lovers

Come For Us

Small Town Airport Restaurant

Time Has Been More Kind

On My Mark

Makes No Sense

You're The Only Reason

Photo Credit: W. Lutka

Get Music Emails & Offers

Get the latest news, discounts & more