Turns out rumours of Hayden's demise -- or at the very least, his disappearance -- have again been greatly exaggerated.

Yes, the Canuck indie-rocker, who's as well known for his sad-sack delivery as he is for the lo-o-ong breaks he likes to take in between albums, once again went on extended hiatus after releasing 2004's Elk-Lake Serenade.

But as Hayden himself explains, his leisurely pace stems from wanting to make sure he gets things just right, not from a publicity-shy desire to drop off the radar for a spell.

"Yeah, that does seem to be my pattern, but it's not on purpose," laughs the singer-songwriter (real name: Paul Hayden Desser), whose self-penned MySpace bio even makes cheeky reference to his 13-year cycle of "recording, touring and lots of time off."

"I usually think I'll be finished faster than I am. But these albums are my one artistic statement that I make once every few years, so I take them very seriously."

In recent months, the statement that's been occupying Hayden's time and attention is the just-released album In Field & Town, a sonically adventurous outing that again finds the singer firmly entrenched in tortured troubadour territory.

But despite his meticulous nature, Hayden says he never had any grand design in mind while bringing In Field to fruition.

"The initial vision was to just write songs that meant something to me, and to record them in a way that did them justice," says Hayden, who'll also play at this summer's Winnipeg Folk Festival. "There wasn't a grand vision because I don't really work that way ... My process is just adding pieces to a puzzle, and then being surprised by what comes out."

Of course, Hayden may just be playing his hand close to his chest. When asked where he drew his lyrical inspiration from this time around, the Toronto resident plays coy, instead redirecting the conversation back to his glacially paced creative process.

"I think that maybe the time it takes me (to make an album) lends itself to different things inspiring me over a long period of time, as opposed to saying, 'These are the things that inspired me to write over the last three months," he explains.

After first coming to the attention of critics with his 1996 debut Everything I Long For, then parting company with a major record label following the release of 1998's The Closer I Get, Hayden has favoured the DIY approach, which usually finds himself holed up in a studio by himself for months on end.

Though a few notable guests (Howie Beck, Holly Throsby, Cuff the Duke's Dale Murray) dropped by to lend a hand, the album is predominately a one-man operation.

And while it may sound like lonely work, Hayden says he wouldn't have it any other way,

"I'm not booking a studio that's a certain amount of money per day, or having a producer or an engineer urging me on all the time," he explains. "It's less of a struggle, and I can be more focused, working by myself."

Which is not to say the 36-year-old -- whose best known song might still be the theme from the Steve Buscemi flick Trees Lounge -- is antisocial. Hayden had plenty of time to mix it up with fans while touring Europe last year, as the opening act for acclaimed buzz band The National.

"You can go through a tour like that and not have any contact at all with the local people, other than the promoters and the caterers," he says. "But this one was different. At nights, after my set, I went out and talked to people. It was definitely rewarding."

Hayden describes his international audience as small, but devoted, a situation he hopes to rectify by aggressively touring Europe and the U.S. to support In Field & Town.

"I would love to be able to play all the really nice theatres, in all the beautiful cities in the world," he says.

Should that happen, he'll have to get someone to look after his cats. The felines -- one of whom was name-checked on 2002's Skyscraper National Park -- took a more hands-off approach while Hayden was working on the new disc.

"I didn't credit the cat this time around," he laughs. "But one in particular sure liked to hang around while I was working on it."