Ten years have passed since a teenaged Hayden Pedigo released a cassette of John Fahey-indebted fingerstyle guitar. As much as Pedigo's skill and songcraft have changed, his tender smirk behind each pluck and strum remains. "Elsewhere," from the forthcoming album The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored, is subtle in its movement. The inquisitive melody slows and picks up speed like an old truck bucking along a gravel road — music that shares the same cinematic awe of Popol Vuh crafting a Werner Herzog soundtrack. And, in fact, "Elsewhere" functions in three distinct acts: first, the uplifting quest; second, a struggle felt tugged on by Luke Schneider's pedal steel; the last, the return and resolution of the melody, brighter yet colored by shades of past doubt.
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