It would have been all too easy for Gemma Hayes to become a pop superstar.

The Tipperary-born singer-songwriter has enough in the way of youth, good looks and vocal skills to challenge any of the budding Britneys. But instead – and to her credit – she’s chosen a harder route, slowly finding her way into the kind of music she herself wants to perform.

Her debut album makes for patchy, but often beautiful listening. Hayes has a wonderful sense of melody – virtually every line she sings is memorable and unusual, holding on in the brain long after the record has stopped playing.