Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Taking time to achieve a sense of glory, or to even find a way to balance life with passionate, down to Earth soul searching, is an art lost to many simply because of the decree from Government that states if you aren’t productively part of the system then you are taking up space, you are harming that wonderous slug of an idea, the economy.
Blind Faith, as an act of self-repair or respect that is required far more in the soul than anything material that can be gained, and perhaps we need it more than ever, to take time, to reflect on our actual goals except for the material wealth and gain offered to us as if it were a drug fed to us down the centuries that disguised itself conveniently as hope.
It is in the devotion to silence that we figure out what we need to say, what the world needs to hear from us and not what it expects; the opportunity taken with absolute spirit by Gemma Hayes as she returns to the front of the earthly stage and talks of subjects such as empowerment, freedom, and repression. It is these subjects and others that the command of Ms. Hayes is recognised, personally admired, and given its true recognition in her brand new, bravely squared up to, and honest Blind Faith.
Across solemn beautiful tracks including Central Hotel, The Break Didn’t Heal Right, Return Of The Daughters, and the splendid opener Eye For An Eye, Gemma Hayes long absence from the listener’s conscious is forgotten, the songs speak of depth, a zeal of confidence and conviction that suggest more than the title may hold. For this is not album of the innocent, those with an overly trusting heart, it is a human dogmatic response to devote love to our own being, placing trust in our ability to overshadow every concern and possibility.
Losing something artistic in nature is a cruel game played the gods, but it is the reminder that where we are is not where we have to stay, if the Muse isn’t working then it is our responsibility to find it elsewhere, to have that blind faith in the belief in ourselves.
A wonderful and engaging album, a set of songs that sparkle with a life returned. Gemma Hayes is back doing what she does so well, and it is a moment to savour.
Gemma Hayes releases Blind Faith on September 27th via Townsend Music.
Ian D. Hall