Jackie Hayes shares debut album ‘Over & Over’ External Inbox

“Jackie Hayes has one of those voices… [she] makes the most of every bar and melody.”
i-D (Best Albums Of Summer 2021)
“Gritty guitar greatness from Chicago grafter… glorious new EP”
NME
“crunchy, unrestrained, badass indie rock.”
Pigeons & Planes ‘Artists of the Month’
“surprisingly world-weary voice and knack for smart rock melodies.”
The FADER

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Today Chicago’s Jackie Hayes shares her long-awaited debut album Over & Over, via Pack Records. Produced with longtime collaborator Billy Lemos (Omar Apollo, Binki, Dua Saleh, Lava La Rue) and mixed by Henry Stoehr of Slow Pulp, it’s the follow up to Hayes’ 2021 EP There’s Always Going To Be Something, which saw her receive support from the likes of  i-D, NME, The FADER and Jack Saunders on BBC Radio1 and Matt Wilkinson on Apple Music 1. Over & Over includes singles ‘Focus’, ‘Wish It Was’ and ‘Bite Me’, as well as Hayes’ recent live dates supporting the likes of Claud, Sunflower Bean, and The Regrettes. Following the release, Jackie will play two headline shows in Brooklyn, NYC and in Chicago. More details below.

Speaking about the album, Jackie says, “This album is a diary of how I felt over the last year or so, a stream of consciousness, internal monologue, scattered thoughts piecing them together to make full songs, a lot of it can be open to interpretation – a lot of times I don’t know what I’ve written about until I’m done.”

After playing her first live shows in years in early 2022 (supporting Briston Maroney and Sunflower Bean), Hayes went back and re-recorded many of the songs on the project. The validation of performing live led her to admit dissatisfaction with her previous work, where a desire to achieve perfection led to her over-editing vocals; “I forgot that I can sing,” she confesses. However, while working on the batch of songs that make up the record, Hayes was dropped by her then-label, and lost her voice from the exhaustion of touring.  At the same time, she had to get stitches from a wine glass exploding in her hand at her day job, which meant she couldn’t properly play guitar for a month. Over & Over reflects the frustrations of this stop and start pace, and many of the songs feel like collective manifestations of Hayes reasoning with herself to keep going. Retaining the rough around the edges, sparse production and guitar work of previous EPs, the debut is a razor-sharp portal into Hayes’ thought process, and establishes a newfound focus for her as she explores what it takes to make music that feels true to her entire being.

Jackie Hayes believed in herself more than anyone else from a young age, entering county fair talent show competitions where she would cover emo bands like Paramore or Pierce the Veil, while also playing piano in the church choir before she was ousted for her irreligious beliefs.  Sneaking out to play DIY shows in and around her hometown of Waukegan, Illinois, she then moved to Chicago alone at age 19, where she worked various full-time jobs throughout the pandemic to make ends meet while making music. To move forward into her next chapter was a process of looking back for Hayes. She explains how a recent return to the alternative music of her youth has made her feel as though she has “come full circle”, allowing her to recapture her independent, imperfect spirit and reframe her relationship with external validation by approaching creation “just for the sake of it.” Whilst “there’s not a single love song” on ‘Over & Over,’ the record is Hayes finding solace in her own spirit – “knowing that I can stop doing this whenever and completely change course made it easier to keep going”. In the end, it’s only her own voice that matters.