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It’s hard to tell if half the audience are here to see Gemma Hayes sing, or if they’re actually here solely in hope that if they shout it enough times she will in fact marry them and/or have their babies. But as charming as she undoubtedly is, every time she starts to sing her voice commands a science from the room, however much testosterone is flying around. Opening with ‘Hanging Around’ her voice has a surprisingly gravely edge that doesn’t quite come across on her recorded work. In the flesh her voice is stronger and has a much more addictive sound then you might expect.
Although at first it might be tempting to write Gemma Hayes off as yet another angst filled girlie singer-writer, there is something special about her which feels original and fresh, whilst at the same time she possesses the rare quality that make you feel like you have listened to her songs a thousand times already (in a good way!). Her only draw back is that some of her tracks have the effect of being slightly depressing, which seems to be reflected in the suicidal looking drummer’s face. But she manages to carry off slower songs like ‘Run For Miles’ with an undeniable beautiful edge without entering the unforgivable Dawson’s music genre.
Her new material sees her going in a heavier direction with more electric than acoustic guitars, which suits her voice well, but may not have suited the vast majority of the audience who older than your average crowd appeared to have come straight from work and spent much of the gig shooting parental, annoyed looks at anyone who dared to light a cigarette. Rock and roll this gig was not.
Gemma Hayes is the kind of person you need in your CD collection when it’s getting late and you’ve reached your fill of big haired, skinny jeaned boys with guitars serenading you. She deserves more attention than she’s received so far, but a little bit of me hopes it’ll stay that way so she’ll stay playing tiny venues like this where she fits perfectly.
