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Album Details
- Artist: Gemma Hayes
- Album: The Hollow Of Morning
- Label: Second Motion
- Year of Release: 2008
- ME Rating:
- Reviewed by: dscanland on 2009-01-14
RecommendI can't remember which blogger was doting on Gemma Hayes but it was pretty convincing. Enough that I decided to check out here latest album The Hollow Of Morning. And am I ever glad I did. She's got a wonderful voice that shows so many sides throughout the the trip presented on her third album, The Hollow Of Morning. It should be disclosed that this Irish songstress was nominated for a Mercury Prize with her debut album, 2003's Night On My Side.
The opening song of The Hollow of Morning, "This Is What You Do", sounds like Gemma is about to breakdown at any moment. The next track, "Out Of Our Hands" is a wonderfully upbeat pop track showing a completely different side of Hayes. Then on "January 14th" we get a primarily acoustic track showing a stronger Hayes but more on the mellow side of things. That's just three tracks in.
"Home" is a lush pop track that has a fantastic arrangement. In fact its songs like this, as well as "Chasing Dragons", the more minimalistic acoustic tracks that make Gemma that much more approachable and lovable.
If you are looking for a new female vocalist to scoop up, seek out Gemma Hayes' The Hollow Of Morning. You should find enough meat in this album to chew for years to come. This is an amazing album that deserves mass acceptance.
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on 2012-03-31 CharlesMartel Said:
So, Kevin Shields, the noisemaster of My Bloody Valentine, put in an appearance on this album, did he? Well, if he did, someone must have tied his hands behind his back because there is nothing here to indicate it except for a credit on the sleeve. Gemma Hayes is a pretty girl with a pleasant voice, but her music is actually nothing special.
This is pleasant enough, in a conventional pop-rock kind of way. The music is kind of dreamy I suppose, but more often than not comes across as drowsy and uninspired. Only Hayes voice keeps things somewhat above the run-of-the-mill fare of her co-artists plodding the same musical furrow. The difference is that Gemma Hayes has ploughed her furrow slightly askance from others. She has found her place in a musical firmament, but unfortunately for her, the musical current is likely to find her struggling in a backwater.
What has happened is that Hayes has used her vocal ability to create a series of songs which are replete with emotional frailty. Her voice is well suited to this, and she manages to sound strained and passionate at the same time. It must be quite a feat to keep this up for a whole album. "This Is What You Do to Me" is probably the pick of the bunch and it encapsulates all that Gemma Hayes is about. After her ill-advised foray into mainstream commercial music with her previous album, this marks a welcome return to something less shallow and inconsequential.
The problem is, that the music does not match the potential of her voice. "Out of Our Hands " and " Chasing Dragons" may be somewhat more up-tempo and provide more of a bang than the rest of the album, but these are out of place in the portfolio of tracks. For the rest of the time, the music induces a languidity which can be overpowering. If you were to play this early in the morning as you were waking up, it would probably induce you not to get out of bed, however pressing the need may be.
That is the ultimate disappointment of this generally pleasant album. The other is that it ends with a completely pointless instrumental. And it is soon obvious why. "Hey we only got thirty minutes of music on this CD. Just bung in a tune at the end to bring it up to something more respectable" though 32 minutes could hardly be called respectable.
Rating: 6/10
