Dive in: Hayden Calnin’s sophomore EP “Oh Hunter”

by Rose Blanton

Hayden Calnin’s music is a hybrid between Explosions in the Sky and Bon Iver.  His sound is expansive and heart wrenching and would make a perfect score to a movie. That’s were the comparison of Explosions in the Sky comes from, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Hayden Calnin followed in their footsteps. The Bon Iver comparison is vocal and lyrical, the two sound eerily alike.

Calnin is a double threat. He has been playing music since he was 14 and also studied film and majored in Sound Design at University. This artist’s background has not only given him experience but the prowess to produce his own albums.

Oh Hunter is his second EP and is loosely based on a short story he wrote over last year. He hasn’t shared much what the story is about but he has admitted that most of what he writes is a sort of analogy for what has been going on in his life.

The EP opens up with “Comatose,” piano keys that simultaneously sound like twinkling lights and echo’s in a cave. The song is about the end of relationship told through all these funny little comparisons. The second track on the EP, “Forever a Traveller” opens up with hymnal like vocals.  In this song Calnin refers to himself as a hunter for the stars, a nod to the EP’s title and probably a hint of what his short story was about. Perhaps he meant a young woman while traversing the globe and had to end things because they were leaning in opposite directions. I corrupt is probably the standout of the EP with its oscillating synth. The closing track, “Not Good for Me,” has a lyric that goes Clench your teeth/This is not the end. Maybe Hayden is giving us a little precursor. His music has depth and is pleasant and evoking. I think though he might be better suited for the world of production and music scores. One Bon Iver is enough.

Release date: December 1, 2014