Over the past 15 years or so fronting the acclaimed country and Americana act Girls Guns And Glory, Ward Hayden has always been a bit of an outsider maverick in this stodgy rock and roll town, and we’ve always respected his roll against the mainstream tide. The Massachusetts musician’s band rebranded a few years ago as Ward Hayden & the Outliers, and are set to release a new album titled Free Country this August; but not before truly rebelling against the times with a new video for “I’d Die For You.”
Released yesterday (June 30), the Joan Hathaway-directed visual for the Outliers’ new single finds Hayden down on Minot Beach in Scituate and South Shore cranberry bogs in the dead of winter, appearing among snow- and ice-covered landscapes and New England’s dependably unforgiving winter. In a week where literally everyone is sweating it out on the beach, in backyards and in pools, getting ready for BBQs and Fourth of July weekend revelry, Hayden is here to dump a freezing cold reality check on the masses. And he’s got the signs to prove it.
“The cards in the video are a nod to the master,” Hayden says. “Bob Dylan ultimately realized that if he kept singing about what was going on, questioning the powers that be, and voicing his discontent that as the chosen ‘voice of a generation’, he might end up getting killed for it. He felt he had a target on his back, so he started writing love songs. I’m headed in the other direction.”
The 10 songs on Free Country are said to explore themes of the growing socio-cultural divide in America, with the songwriter’s own desire to understand it so we can survive it and maybe, one day, move past it. And it starts with this week’s new track.
“We’ve all been living through a unique time in the world. A time when many different people are working to push the boundaries of what is real, what is factual, what is actual, what is the truth,” adds Hayden. “Perception creates your reality. But the reality is that no matter what you tell yourself, the truth is still the truth. It can’t be bent. You can lie to other people, you can even lie to yourself, but it’s still a lie. In the words to this song I bounce back and forth between true statements and false ones. I’m making declarations; some true, some not. And if the listener cares to explore each line to see what is real and what isn’t, maybe they’ll get something from it.”
Sometimes we’re all a man caught in the grip of winter, while the world around us is celebrating summer. But since we’re here, Ward Hayden & the Outliers have a healthy slate of live appearances set for the next few months, including a July 31 date at Askew in Providence and an August 20 gig at The Center for the Arts in Natick; get all the dates and info here.