Sarah-Jane tunes up with the quietly enigmatic songstress Gemma Hayes.
Badly Drawn Boy may have stolen the hearts of most Mancunians with his soundtrack to About A Boy, but my heart has been captured and held hostage by a girl from 'a very tiny village' called Tipperary. Her name is Gemma Hayes and her debut album, Time On My Side, has been glued to my turntable ever since it fell through the letterbox several months ago. What makes it so special is hard to articulate, but in my humble opinion it oozes the perfect amount of melancholic longing, romance, loneliness and hope.
"Thanks," laughs Hayes modestly. "There's no recurring theme throughout the album, I just wanted to put out a really strong bunch of songs. A lot of them are about people who've left a big impression on me or moved me in some way. Others are about really mundane things like sitting down with a cup of tea and daydreaming. There's also a couple of songs about movement and moving, but nothing about changing the world or leaving my mark on it. Why not? I've never been that ambitious!"
Three blinding EPs
Aptly, Hayes spent 18 months studying history and sociology at Dublin University in the mid '90s, but quit her degree to concentrate on music full-time. Since then, she's released three blinding EPs (4.35am, Work to a Calm, Hanging Around) and supported various artists including Sparklehorse, Rufus Wainwright and Mark Eitzel. "I used to get really nervous before shows," she confesses. "Now I've done so many it doesn't bother me... Supporting other artists can be a frustrating experience, but most of the people I've played with have been really friendly and supportive. Do I have any favourite memories? Sparklehorse were always incredible to watch because Mark Linkus plays the music with every inch of his body and soul."
A huge fan of Tom Waits, The Cure and My Bloody Valentine ("Their music is so big and brash and beautiful I never tire of listening to it"), Hayes traveled to Buffalo, New York to record Night On My Side with Mogwai/Mercury Rev producer Dave Fridmann. "I've checked out practically every record Dave's done, and the best thing about him is the way he allows each artist to blossom in their own individual way," she states. "What was it like staying in Buffalo? There's definitely a touch of psychoville about the whole place, but it's so quiet and empty you have no distractions... you just immerse yourself in the music."
An extremely promising debut with well-crafted songs, Night On My Side marries sweeping guitars and lush instrumentation with warm harmonies and honeyed vocals. Both Day One and My God suggest Hayes could easily become the Irish Emmylou Harris, but it's Hanging Around, Tear In My Side and Lucky One that demonstrate she's the most enigmatic and quietly arresting artist since Kristin Hersh.
Gemma Hayes plays Night & Day, May 15. Night On My Side is released May 27 on Source.
Listen to Night On My Side: Real media low; Windows low; Real media high; Windows high
Listen to Haning Around:
Real media low;
Window low;
Real media high;
Windows high