Moving Careful

AMG Review of Moving Careful

Nathan Bush
All Music Guide

Upon the release of his debut album, 1996s Everything I Long For, Toronto singer/songwriter Hayden found himself at the center of a major-label bidding war. Choosing, initially, to remain independent, he released Moving Careful, this 1997 EP on Canada's Sonic Unyon. Though his biggest preoccupation is with love (both lost and found), each song offers a refreshing approach to the subject. They feel like portraits; sketches of events that rarely make plain their intent the first time around. On "Half of Me" he relates the story of his girlfriend and best friend sharing cigarettes together and finding that they had more in common than anyone knew. "Old Fashioned Way" contains little action, but what may appear to be a story about a new haircut manages to capture both the hope and insecurity of love in the equivalent of a couple of verses. Occasionally, as on "Choking," Hayden seems satisfied to leave the meaning hanging in the air at song's end. Only "You Are All I Have," where the title explains the sentiment with little else to tell, does he fail to compel. These stories succeed in part because of the expertly crafted music Hayden wraps around them. From the hushed vocals, lightly strummed guitar, and lo-fi cymbal taps of "Pots and Pans" to the bizarre, ominous organ pulse that runs throughout "Choking," everything on Moving Careful betrays an admirable attention to detail. The results are truly intimate: music best heard on late nights in quiet rooms.