Roads Don't Love You, The - Gemma Hayes

Advantages: A little bit more 'poppy' than her debut so more accessible
Disadvantages: Hopefully not a sell-out to mass appeal

...The title of "The Roads Don't Love You" comes from a line at the end of "Happysad", the third track in the album - for reference, the full listing is as follows: 1. Two Step 2. Another For The Darkness 3. Happysad 4. Easy On The Eye 5. Keep Me Here 6. Undercover 7. Nothing Can 8. Helen 9. Something In My Way 10. Horses 11. Tomorrow 12. (Hidden Track) From a cursory look at the charts, the album got to No.98 in the Top 100 in November ...
...Still, positions aren't everything, and I don't bother with the charts as a yardstick to what is good and what is not worth bothering with, anymore. "Two Step" contains the lyrics "Stop chasing every little thing that sparks, you carry all you'll ever need in your heart", evidence straight away that this Irish singer hasn't lost her edge despite a hiatus period between albums that saw her develop writer's block. "Night On My Side" was a mixture ... Read review

Advantages: A simply sublime performance from start to finish
Disadvantages: None - can't wait for her third album to be released

...This wasn't my introduction to Gemma Hayes - her follow-up to "Night On My Side" ("The Roads Don't Love You") was, and whilst that was something of an eye-opener for me a few years ago, I wish I'd known about this little gem when it was released back in 2002. As far as I am aware, most of the material on this, her full length debut, unfortunately managed to sneak under most people's radar due to it having very little airplay (she's never broken into the Top 40 but then again that's no yardstick re quality) - if I had heard any of the tracks from it at the time, I would have immediately gone out and bought it. You may infer from the above comments that I'm quite a fan of Gemma Hayes and this album in particular - so if I tell you that track 3 ("Back Of My Hand") is probably my favourite song of all time (so far), it won't come as so much... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: An absorbing collection of themed acoustic-led pop songs
Disadvantages: Not for those who want an 'immediate fix' - it's a slow-burner

...in an interview, "….these songs are about all the things I want to say to people, but can't. How else do you tell someone that, just by being with you, they're saving you?" However, the title of the album portended towards reality: between her first and second albums, Source had been taken over by its parent company, Virgin, which itself was then bought out by EMI, and the new bosses either didn't want to know about Gemma Hayes or thought they knew what was best for her career. She felt this pressure during the recording of "The Roads Don't Love You" - despite being a fan favourite, the bosses weren't impressed with it and they told her so - its eventual release was afforded very little publicity and she was only allowed one single ("Happysad"). To make matters worse, the associated tour was cut short after just two weeks because her budget... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful