New Music: Gemma Hayes – Hardwired

Irish singer-songwriter Gemma Hayes has been creating intimate music from a varied palette for over two decades. Hardwired confirms that she retains her talent for creating a searing fusion of folk, indie, and rock. The song will feature on her Blind Faith LP.

Hayes’ vocal style has a strong resemblance to the distinct tones of Lisa Hannigan and PJ Harvey, but also the earthy sound of the iconic Marianne Faithfull. The dark and melodic underpinnings of the arrangement occasionally veer into something harder, but that just adds to the impact of not just the vocals, but the unvarnished message of the lyrics.

“I wanted to take a musical freeze frame of the world post-Covid,” says Hayes about Hardwired. “A place where, according to statistics, we were more captured by our devices and social media content than ever before.”

“We were sitting ducks for bad actors to misinform us in a way that felt like real information. A place where people became more polarised by whether they identified with left or right, pro or anti etc. The lack of nuance in these areas seemed dangerous. I felt like unplugging the world, waiting ten seconds, and plugging it back in again. And thus, was born Hardwired.”

Hayes plays Vicar St in Dublin on the 18th of May, with more Irish and UK dates lined up for June and September respectively. Blind Faith is due to be released this September. For album updates as well as information on venues and ticket availability for live appearances, make your way to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.