hayes

Spacy beauty and dreamy wonder made as real as music can subjectively ever be. Singer guitarist Aaron Smart and band have written and performed an ambrosial assemblage of sonic sounds supreme, dripping melodic splendor and shining silver tapestries of intricate rhythms from on high. These hook sweetened tunes are a treasure trove of glorious vibratory visions and idyllic lyrical imagery. Why isn't this band being hailed as the conquering heroes of an otherwise barren musical landscape? Hayes is a euphoric antidote to all the diva drivel and rapid vapid hip hop horrors that seem to dominate today's popular music scene. Why hasn't a major label jumped on these guys and had them sign their saintly souls over to the gods of grammy awards and hollywood soundtracks? Hayes should be huge. One of their musically pure notes is worth more than a hundred notes from any of the current media industry darlings. Maybe Aaron Smart is just that, too smart to sell a product this divine for anything less than everything. - Glenn Tillman. - Tangerine Magazine-Glenn Tillman

This indie release reminded me a lot of the more commercial side of Incubus. It’s a good solid indie effort that puts some of its major label competition to shame. Great production and some excellent songwriting can be found among the eleven tracks. It has a nice progressive feel and the band doesn’t seem to be afraid to mix things up between tracks. In other words, it would be easy for a band in this genre to pretty much reproduce the same song over and over, but Hayes will never be accused of that. When you fast forward to the next track you get an entirely new track. - Antimusic.com

Review by:
Krissy Knudson

Hayes debut release, Eleven, is a great rock/alternative album. The band has this great Incubus meets 3 Doors Down vibe going on. With songs like "Freestyling," "Anyone" and "I Will Walk" the album is never a let down. Their song "Hussy" was even placed on the Tommy Hilfiger/Demodaze promo CD. I was able to listen to the album from start to finish without getting the urge to cut to another song.

Aaron Smart's vocal style is amazing. He has a great singing voice that meshes well with backing vocalist/keyboardist Kelly Finnigan. Aaron doesn't miss a note while playing guitar either. It all sounds amazing whether it be electric or acoustic. Sean Wilson on bass and Jesse Kramer on drums are able to add their own sound to every song as well.

Eleven is able to mix it up with rock flavored songs, then go into a slow ballad and back into the rock without it being weird. The slow songs still have a cool vibe. This would even be a great album to have sex to. Eleven has a nice ambiance that keeps you in a good mood even if the lyrics aren't necessarily happy. This is one of those bands you can catch a song on almost any kind of station, from rock to easy listening, and that isn't a bad thing!

I don't quite understand why this album was independently released because this is definitely a band that should be going places. Perhaps their recent shows at the Viper Room and Troubadour are a sign of things to come.
- nowontour.com

I hesitate to call Hayes pop/rock. It is safer to say that there are rock songs on the album and there are pop songs on the album. The first two tracks will knock the wind out of you at any volume. "Necktie" is a spiraling full melodic rock song that makes you want to go back and listen to it at least a couple more times before you go on to the rest the album. This is immediately followed up by "Asinimaha," a beautifully distorted, fast and powerful cry. Its worth getting the CD just to feel to intensity of these first songs. From that point on the album seems to slope off into a series of more mellow pop/rock configurations that are easy to sing along to. In a sense the album goes from pounding to flowing in matter of minutes, producing a unique effect for the active listener. Its like being knock out cold, and then lead through a dream sequence. Near the end of the album the "Oblivion" begins to shake everything up again. Hayes' vocalist, Aaron Smart, just wails on this track and you can't tell if you're being pulled deeper into the dream or if your being push back into awakening. In some ways the album evokes the artistic qualities of 90s rock. The album title "Eleven" (for 11 songs) seems reminiscent of Pearl Jam's "Ten," and almost every song on the album has a one word title. Remember the days when every song had an artsy name that you had to step over to get to the song, like "Once," "Deep," and "Black"?

"Eleven" is an excellent album, and I can't believe these guys aren't signed. It's a good album for anyone who likes a mix of hard and mellow, distorted and clear, anxiety and stillness. It's beautifully produced and it doesn't sound at all like the average debut album. I highly recommend starting off "Eleven" with headphones in order to catch the intricacies of the music.

- smother.net