Loving The Roads..
Stephen Doig | New Zealand | 11/07/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Gemma Hayes' debut album Night On My Side revealed her to be a complex, mercurial talent with a gift for making inspired music, and the album itself proved to be a considerable critical success. For those, like me, who've been waiting patiently for her new album to drop, and wondering whether it could live up to her brilliant debut - it's finally arrived, and the answer would appear to be a definitive YES.
The Roads Don't Love You is a slightly more conventional singer/songwriter album, less mind-bending than Night On My Side, but no less beautiful in execution. Recorded in L.A, Gemma has surrounded herself with a crack team of musicians including renowned drummer Joey Waronker, bassist Cedric LeMoyne from the sadly missed (well, by me at least) Remy Zero, and a disciplined, demanding producer in Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Travis, Pavement, Beck) who has a way of extracting excellence out of whoever he's involved with. Apparently, Gemma suffered from writers block leading up to this album - but you wouldn't know it from the consistently lovely results here.
Gemma Hayes' songs inhabit a world of beautiful strangers, undeniable attractions, deep longings, lost chances, unresolved feelings and fleeting glimpses of happiness. She addresses all of these themes in the chorus of album opener 'Two Step' - "...stop chasing every little thing that sparks, you carry all you ever need in your heart". This song is Gemma Hayes personified. So too, the bittersweet first single 'Happy/Sad', which, like so much of her work, straddles the line between being happy/sad, calm/on edge, beautiful/ugly with intoxicating ease, and builds to a beautiful climax. 'Easy On The Eye' is hauntingly resonant, and my personal favourite 'Undercover' has a definite Rumours-era Fleetwood mac vibe to it - needless to say it's great - "...man you left me undercover, a gypsy out in nowhere".
As much as I adore Night On My Side, I do have to feel in the right mood to play it - it's a record that demands your full attention, and not really ideal to do the dishes to I guess. Conversely, I can listen to The Road's Don't Love You anytime, anywhere and always really enjoy it.
The Roads Don't Love You is an impressive feat, it's an album that should broaden Gemma Hayes' appeal without sacrficing any of the quality or individuality that make her so compelling to listen to in the first place.
The roads mightn't love her, but I sure do."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1