Tuesday, August 19, 2003
Day for Night.
Great review of the Gemma Hayes record by Mr. Begrand:
"Without a doubt, the first six tracks that comprise the "Day" half are absolutely stupendous. The songs are smartly written, very catchy, radio friendly, and positively buoyant at times. The album opens with a trio of songs that deserve attention from mainstream rock fans; "Hanging Around" starts off as sounding like yet another pre-packaged alternative rock song, but Hayes throws in a melody so lovely that it's actually surprising to hear. "Back of My Hand" utilizes some tiny hints of guitar drones underneath Hayes's almost country-ish phrasing, while the wonderful single "Let a Good Thing Go" turns up the distortion considerably, reaching almost Lush-like heights of layered, noisy guitars. Hayes goes fully into dreampop mode on the next three songs. "Tear in My Side" has that typical, slow pace and insistently strummed guitars, not to mention plenty of repeated, mantralike lyrics ("Tear in my side / I feel it all"), but Hayes's fresh approach makes it work very well. Same goes for the splendid "Work to a Calm", which originally appeared on the UK EP of the same name, as well as the ethereal "Lucky One", with its swirling, roaring guitars that make the song all the more anguished. The first half of this album is so good, you just want it to go on forever, carrying you away."
And then there's the second half. Still, it's a very promising debut.
The first six tracks would make for a neat $5.94 purchase on that iTunes thing, if they have it.
posted by Linus |
8:24 PM
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