Track of the Day: Gemma Hayes, 'Hardwired'

The third single from Gemma Hayes’ forthcoming album Blind Faith is an anthem that swings for the heavens and never comes down. Driven by a modest motorik pulse, ‘Hardwired’ drives an illusion of endless ascension, just when you think the sound is filled to the brim, high-flown, rip-roaring tones suffuse the foreground.

"I wanted to take a musical freeze frame of the world post-Covid,” Gemma says of the track. “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. I felt like unplugging the world, waiting ten seconds and plugging it back in again and thus was born, ‘Hardwired.’”

The track wields uncompromising vulnerability amidst a propulsive soundscape. With a throbbing rhythm section, soft crystalline vocals and fluid guitars, ‘Hardwired’ is an infectious offering of indie rock catharsis pedalled by rich instrumentation. As it progresses, the offering transforms with effervescent drums that expands the atmosphere even further.

Well-wrought and emotionally charged, ‘Hardwired’ is a song worth witnessing live and in person. As she’s currently on tour, Hayes offers several opportunities to do just that. To celebrate the release of her forthcoming LP Blind Faith, the singer-songwriter continues the tour with a show at Vicar Street this weekend, 18th May, and concludes the stint with a supporting slot at Damien Dempsey's Iveagh Gardens concert. For more information or tickets, please see here.