Skyscraper National Park
Bedroom grunge folkie Paul Hayden Desser emerged in the '90s as the acoustic equivalent of an electrified punk-popper, strumming forcefully through bedsit tales of angst and ennui. His stark tunes caught the ear ofNeil Youngand set off a wild bidding war, though Hayden ended up signing to the fledgling Outpost label for one record. 2001'sSkyscraper National Parkis everything that Hayden's Outpost disaster,The Closer I Get, was not. While the major-label disc buried the gruff songwriter's melodies beneath big-budget dross,Skyscraper National Parkputs Hayden back in his home studio, playing most of the instruments himself and reconnecting with what made him interesting in the first place. Songs like "Streetcar" return to the mope-pop of earlier albums, while the surprisingly funky "Tea Pad" mixes psychedelic fuzz with a shuffle beat. A welcome return.--Matt Galloway