Hayden Calnin - Cut Love (Part 1)

March 4th 2016

(CD Album Review)

It’s not love... but wouldn’t cut him out just yet!!!

Hayden Calnin is a Melbourne based singer songwriter and ‘Cut Love (Part 1)’ is his debut album which was produced following a request from a contemporary dancer. It opens with a recorded monologue entitled ‘Introduction: Nothingness’ which is unsurprisingly about nothingness which leads you in rather intrigued as to where the music is going to go as there is only a subdued stripped back musical track behind the voice.

Hayden Calnin own voice makes an appearance on second track ‘Cut Love’, he takes comparisons to Bon Iver which can certainly be appreciated I also felt a small note of scaled back Flaming Lips. It is track that lasts for over seven minutes and becomes almost hypnotic in the way its melts along almost in the background.

By the fourth track ‘Small Leaf’ it is still snaking along in a subdued manner. In fact I am sorting waiting for it to go somewhere. While I fully appreciate it is not going to transgress into a full on Broadway sing along by the start of ‘Honour’ it almost feels like one long track rather than an album of separate tunes, although that track does have a brief interlude of Prog Esq. guitars to break it up a bit.

I must admit by the time we get to seventh track ‘We are Stars and Spheres’ I am starting to zone it out a bit, nearly half an hour of music and again it feels like we are still on track two. While acts of course need their own signature sound I prefer a bit of a journey with an album.

It finally draws to a close on ‘Outro: Shopping Trolley’ and I am sorry to say that is one place I would not put this CD. I wanted to like this as you can tell it is a talented musician but the repetitiveness of the sound just doesn’t do it for me.

As a concept album is an interesting idea and as a musician who obviously has ideas, just not one I like in this case. I would take a listen to 'Cut Love (Part 2)' to see where the musical journey develops, but I wouldn't run out and buy it... but maybe he will impress.

Review by Jon Cooper