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With Covid-19 restrictions slowly waning into oblivion, many of us are excitedly looking to the future in hopes of finding more opportunities to spend time outside, go on long road trips, and see our friends once again. Every summer excursion needs a soundtrack, of course, and luckily this month Hayden Everett returns with his long-awaited EP Kennecott - a collection of five ethereal alternative folk tracks carefully crafted with nature in mind. You may recognize Everett from his three singles released earlier this year, with Kennecott finally tying them and two new tracks together with one big bow.

Kennecott is a rare project that is crafted with both masterful skill and intention. Upon listening, it is immediately apparent that Everett is not your average songwriter. His songs bring with them a refreshing modernity to the age-old folk music hegemony. There's a strong dose of cleverness within his stripped-back compositions. Each one of Kennecott's five tracks delivers the listener ethereal and near-melancholic soundscapes built around Everett's somber writing.

Tracks like the EP's eponymous "Kennecott" have a strong focus on environmentalism and the purity of nature, a theme that becomes amplified by Everett's affinity for acoustics and song structure. Cuts like "Still" and the EP closer "By The End" see Everett's vocals mixed flawlessly, with breathy vocal layers weaving in and out of steady guitar melodies. Above all, one of the main draws to Kennecott is that it is unique in its entirety. Even though there are moments that sound like Bon Iver and Foals watched An Inconvenient Truth before hitting the studio, Everett's pastoral poetry is as haunting as it is understated.

Kennecott is full of earnest folk tracks that are perfect for a cathartic trip to a state park, or really any moment where you feel like you need a breath of clarity that only nature can bring. Like the deciduous wilderness he models his music after, Everett's music is dense and full of things to explore. If Kennecott proves anything, it's that Everett is not just a guitar-wielding singer wearing his heart on his sleeve - he truly understands the perspectives he represents.  

Moments of vulnerability accompany sage wisdom, and it is because of this that I am crossing my fingers this is not the last release we get from him this year. After listening to Kennecott, I feel strangely inspired to start exploring a forest, so if Hayden drops anything soon, please send someone to tell me.

Listen to Kennecott below: