Hayden Elk Lake Serenade Release Date : May 18, 2004 Label: Hardwood (Canada)/Badman (US) Records Rating: I’m tired/I’m waking up tired/Going to bed tired/I’m so tired. In related news, this record is boring as fuck. Whoa tiger, do not let those beats per minute get too high, we would not want to detect a pulse, would we? Stamina is needed to work through this record, believe you me. In the event you choose to sit and listen to Hayden’s latest, Elk Lake Serenade, in its entirety, you best be either having an incredibly deep contemplative moment on the shores of Elk Lake or be warming some milk and prepping for the upcoming slumber, cos this music will put you to sleep. It is not that quiet is a bad thing, as Damien Rice, with O, and Ryan Adams, with Love Is Hell, have released some astoundingly good quiet and pretty albums in recent times. It is just that the 15 songs included within Elk Lake... are way too much to listen to all at once. Perhaps served in doses of two or three songs a listen the subtleties of the music would present themselves and the songs would be much more enjoyable, but no dice. What we have here is collection of music that is as effective as melatonin or any other sleeping concoctions currently on the market. I suppose the difference between Hayden and the aforementioned accomplished quiet artists is that Adams and Rice manage, easily at that, to make the listening experience engaging and meaningful, while Elk Lake Serenade is just plain boring. The quandary is this: the majority of the record is entirely forgettable as a result of sparse playing and flat singing, which makes sitting through the record in its entirety quite a chore. For the most part, Elk Lake Serenade is lacking any semblance of life, urgency or, most importantly considering that we are talking about music here, worthwhile songs. Alright alright, maybe this is a little harsh. There are a few songs that do stand out, such as "Home By Saturday", "My Wife" and "Hollywood Ending", but this is only a result of a slightly more upbeat tempo. Adding upbeat drums hardly counts as a worthwhile stylistic departure, no? As stand alone songs these compositions are memorable and worth listening, perhaps repeatedly, but the fact of the matter is that you have to work your way through 12 other nap time specialties to round out the album. At least these three songs are pretty ok. And that is it. -Kevin Halpin Elsewhere Hayden website Published : July 28, 2004.