Gemma Hayes

Night on My Side is a promising debut from Ireland's Gemma Hayes. With production help and instrumental ornamentation from David Odlum and Mercury Rev's Dave Fridmann, Hayes tackles a healthy number of musical influences. With her vocals honoring and mimicking Lisa Germano and Jane Siberry, Hayes seems to find a common ground between traditional somber folk-rock, shoegazer walls of sound, and lo-fi electronica. That she lingers too frequently in dark emotional territory serves to drag the album down, and oftentimes the guitar feedback and effects pedals seem at odds with the gloomy, somewhat bitter atmosphere Hayes creates. Comparing the mostly one-note mood of Night on My Side with the sprightly but touching music of similar nouveau shoegazers It's Jo & Danny and Yo La Tengo sees Hayes not exactly reaching their peaks. But the passion Hayes brings to her songs frequently overshadows the overstepping of her collaborators. "Hanging Around," "Let a Good Thing Go," and "Night on My Side" perhaps best showcase the conviction of Hayes in expressing her emotions in song. Even though this album isn't sparkling with innovation, one gets the sense that if Hayes stripped down her sound or found a producer more suited to her voice, her songs could peek out of the sonic storm and touch a nerve in more listeners. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide