The veteran Ontario indie-folk musician Hayden will soon release his first album in eight years, and he’s announcing it with a lot of star power. April’s Are We Good features drums by Big Thief’s James Krivchenia and two songs produced by the National’s Aaron Dessner. Its lead single, out today, is a Feist collaboration called “On A Beach.” The song arrives with a video featuring not just Leslie Feist but also Dessner’s National bandmate Matt Berninger and Hollywood legend Steve Buscemi. The latter connection goes back more than a quarter-century: Hayden did the music for Buscemi’s 1996 directorial debut Trees Lounge.

“On A Beach” is a light, lovely duet between Hayden and Leslie Feist that reminds me a bit of their fellow Canadian Andy Shauf. In the video, directed by Yael Staav, Hayden and Feist play a couple who seek out hypnotists including Buscemi (a professional) and Berninger (who offers his services on the street) in an attempt to recapture the bliss of their early years together. Watch the video below.

A word from Hayden on the song’s genesis:

One afternoon February 2021 I was asleep at my piano when I received a text from my friend Leslie (Feist), inviting me to be a part of a songwriting workshop with several other musicians of note. I was terrified, but joined in as an attempt to jolt myself out of submission. The idea was to write a song a day for seven consecutive days, sharing them later each evening with the other writers. A great combination of pure feet to the fire expression and accountability.

“On A Beach” was my “day four” submission. I continued tinkering with the song and recording in the following weeks, adding a bridge, tracking several synth lines to try to create what I thought hypnosis may sound like. A few weeks later, Leslie was in town and I invited her to sing on a newer verse I’d written to make the song more of a conversation. Who better than the best, and the one who basically made the song happen in the first place.

Are We Good is out 4/5 on Arts & Crafts.