Skyscraper National Park
by Hayden
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Mojo
    100
    Is not only utterly delectable but manages to find genuinely new ways to shape heartbreak. [Dec 2002, p.114]
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  2. Splendid
    90
    Hayden has released an album of magnificent proportions.
  3. Pitchfork
    82
    Although its best moments don't reach quite the altitudes of his prior releases, Skyscraper National Park, as a whole, is the most complete and coherent album in Hayden's catalog, a delightful listen from track one through track eleven.
  5. Neumu.net
    80
    An album that is both emotionally powerful and truly beautiful.
  6. AllMusic
    80
    Skyscraper National Park is an amazing record that tells its entire story with a hushed voice and subdued instrumentation, but is still more affecting then being screamed at for hours on end.
  7. PopMatters
    80
    Delicate slices of low heart-rate brilliance.
  8. Magnet
    80
    If Low or Acetone pull your melancholy levers and there's a need for some hurt feelings, then go ahead and reserve Skyscraper National Park a space on your 2002 top-10 list. [#54, p.92]
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  9. Stylus Magazine
    71
    Enjoyable rather than revelatory, and quirky rather than profound.
  10. The A.V. Club
    70
    Hayden draws from the traditions of eccentric folk-rock, but his ragged, harrowing concoction of acoustic gentility and electric anarchy stands as a genre all its own.
  11. Q Magazine
    60
    After a couple plays, his just-crawled-out-of-bed falsetto and homemade designs start taking root. [Nov 2002, p.102]
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Awards & Rankings

25
#25 Best Album of 2002

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 8 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8
  1. PaulJ
    Jun 18, 2006
    10
    Great work from an underrated singer/songwriter.
  2. thetuaz
    Dec 10, 2003
    10
    its emotional art at its fullest. A soft lullabye that makes something beautiful out of a simple story.
  3. CarloL.
    Mar 30, 2002
    8
    His writing is as poignant as ever, and he gets his melodies and music back in check with this comeback from his last mediocre album. Some His writing is as poignant as ever, and he gets his melodies and music back in check with this comeback from his last mediocre album. Some songs come in under a couple of minutes, adheering to his belief that sometimes songs can say what they need to say in a few moments. This kamakazee type song writing melds perfectly with the beautifully painted ballads. Hayden manages to channel his fellow Canadian contemporaries Neil Young and Leanord Cohen, while sounding decidedly unique.… Full Review »
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