photo by brett noble "seven hours just to see you / can't believe we made it through..."
The youthful cascading longing and porcelain fragility of "Seven", from Spokane, Washington's (by way of Galena, Illinois) singer-songwriter / shoegaze punk / noise pop maker Hayes Noble, is the artist stripped back within an intimate lo-fi, demo-esque milieu. I always love hearing this side of songwriters and imagine that the song was created only by Noble probably in a crowded bedroom with instruments strewn about and barely a drum kit in the corner. I am loving the acoustic core strummed passionately and the dirty vintage keys that could be a basic casio, an ancient reed organ, a Farfisa or even an omnichord. The intimacy of the hushed vocals, the textural flickers and lightning strikes of Noble's evocative emo voice feels beyond perfect snuggling into the ultra pretty and melancholy musical bed. It hit's me like 90's indie rock, like that perfect Smashing Pumpkins song (you know the one) and would likely make me cry if I was 16. Great track.
-Robb Donker Curtius
LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):
LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):
["Seven," and other tracks off the upcoming Never Blue LP, shed light on a different side of shoegaze punk artist Hayes Noble. Normally known for blown out fuzzy guitars and an ear-splitting live show, Noble strips away the noise in favor of a simpler approach with his latest batch of songs. While critics have often highlighted his penchant for blending pop hooks with feedback and guitar solos, on "Seven" Noble opted to drive the song with piano and an acoustic to create that moody, rainy day vibe.]
[Written in early 2025, according to Noble, “Seven” is a classic ode to the long distance relationship. “I came up with the main riff in my girlfriend’s dorm when I was visiting her at college for the first time. The rest just sort of fell into place naturally. Lyrically, it’s focused on anticipation and reassurance - trying to capture the feel of those long drives and visits, and of course, the return home. Even though things can be tough sometimes, it’s important to think back to why you’re going through with what you’re doing, and why it’s all worth pushing through the lows. You know, love ain’t always easy, but it’s always worth it.”]
[Written in early 2025, according to Noble, “Seven” is a classic ode to the long distance relationship. “I came up with the main riff in my girlfriend’s dorm when I was visiting her at college for the first time. The rest just sort of fell into place naturally. Lyrically, it’s focused on anticipation and reassurance - trying to capture the feel of those long drives and visits, and of course, the return home. Even though things can be tough sometimes, it’s important to think back to why you’re going through with what you’re doing, and why it’s all worth pushing through the lows. You know, love ain’t always easy, but it’s always worth it.”]
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvG_nOABG_lmlLQP_eIp8oQ
https://www.instagram.com/hayesnoblemusic/
https://www.tiktok.com/@hayesnoble
https://www.facebook.com/hayesnoblemusic/
https://hayesnoble.bandcamp.com/music
On Never Blue, Hayes Noble offers up a collection of songs, both new and old, expanding on his shoegaze punk/noise-pop sound. Never Blue is less a collection of demos and outtakes and more a sonic challenge to dig into old hooks and melodies to pull out something fresh and moving. Driven by a Dylanesque idea that a song is never done being written, but always just passing through another stage in its growth…a piece of art in a constant state of flux, dependent on the mood, the times, and its overall place in the world around it…Noble set out to document where things stood in early 2025. Recording alone in his basement, he reworked eight songs off previous records and wrote two new ones for the cassette project. Purposefully stripped down, the lo-fi approach allowed Noble to capture the essence of the blown out sound he’s become known for, while allowing the melodies and emotions to shine through the noise. Less of an all out attack and more of a slow burn, Never Blue feels like the cold fall rain as we tumble towards winter. The collection continues Noble’s emergence as one of the pacemakers in a new generation of guitar-driven indie rockers.
Noble’s sophomore album, As It Was, As We Were, refined his brand of fuzzed out punk rock with increasingly dynamic songwriting. Recorded and mixed by Luke Tweedy (William Elliott Whitmore, Appleseed Cast, Erase Errata), mastered by Carl Saff, with artwork by Mike Scheer (Built to Spill, Treepeople), As It Was, As We Were captured the nineteen-year-old's talent for fusing melodic noise with timeless coming-of-age lyrics. Recorded two months after his high school graduation, the album is the story of hot summer nights, first loves, and teenage desolation set to driving beats and abrasive hooks. It’s a Gen Z snapshot of leaving home, and the suffocating bleakness glimpsed on the horizon.
Upon release, As It Was, As We Were peaked at #86 on the NACC Top 200 radio chart. The album received excellent reviews from dozens of publications with Fiona Rae of Maximum Rocknroll, stating it’s “a marriage between wonderfully layered shoegaze soundscapes and the hurried noise of post-hardcore.” Paste Magazine included the LP in its “Top 25 Punk Albums of 2024,” calling it “an irresistible bag of swirling, fuzzed-out headphone candies that taste like Dinosaur Jr, Built to Spill, Hüsker Dü and Japandroids.” As It Was, As We Were featured on other year-end lists including Maximum Rocknroll’s “Year End Top Tens,” Flood Magazine’s “15 Albums From 2024 You Should Know,” and The Big Takeover’s “Jack Rabid’s Ultimate Best of 2024.”
Noble’s 2023 debut, Head Cleaner, showed off a massive tube driven wall of sound. Recorded and mixed on 2" tape by Daytrotter co-founder and analog guru Patrick Stolley, Head Cleaner captured the wide range of Noble's musical influences, combining earsplitting shoegaze and post-hardcore, with a nod to the guitar driven noise rock that burst out of the mid-80s punk scene. The album recalls the sounds of legendary indie guitar heroes, with shards of Dinosaur Jr., Polvo, and Superchunk, breaking through a bedrock of overblown punk rock.
Head Cleaner received positive reviews from multiple national outlets with Kurt Morris writing in Razorcake, “it amazes me that Noble is only seventeen...for a first album, this has a helluva lot going for it and any fans of the slacker, fuzzy guitar sound will dig this.” Maximum Rocknroll praised the “shoegaze wall of sound” and asserted “the songs are tight and engaging...a warm and fuzzy good listen.” Glide Magazine called Head Cleaner “a fresh sounding nod to the likes of late 80’s post-punk greats like Sonic Youth and Hüsker Dü with plenty of originality to spare.”
Noble has completed multiple tours over the past 3 years, traveling the DIY circuit backed by his little brother Everett, on bass, and father Brett, on drums. The trio have bounced around from Pittsburgh to L.A., hitting spots in nearly every state in-between, playing to small crowds in sweaty basements, coffee shops, and bars. Whether at a rock club or rental hall, Hayes and the family make for a strange sight - an intergenerational noise machine smashing through a set fast and tight. Gaining a reputation for a monstrous sound and energetic performance, Noble drives sound guys mad, but reestablishes the punk show as a full body experience.
Hailing from northwest Illinois, and now residing in Spokane, Washington, Hayes Noble has built a solid following since home recording his first demos in 2021. Growing up in small-town rural America, with not much to do and nowhere to go, Hayes spent much of his time in the basement blasting records and working out songs. Raised on a steady diet of obscure noise and classic cuts, the multi-instrumentalist comes from a home where DIY punk ethics laid the groundwork, music plays a central role, and tastes span the decades. From 60's soul to various shades of metal, and everything in between, the stacks of CDs and vinyl have provided influences cutting across genres and eras. Drawing on inspiration from artists as wide ranging as Todd Rundgren, Ian MacKaye, and Doug Martsch, Hayes is building a sound drawn from home and abroad, yet uniquely his own. This isn't throwback cosplay, but that age-old phenomenon that occurs when bored kids find guitars and the magic of pedals and loud amplifiers, pushing beyond influences to make something raw and exciting.
FOR FANS OF: Daniel Johnston, Alex G, Tony Molina, Beach Fossils, Dinosaur Jr., Built to Spill, The Lemonheads, Duster, Ovlov, Cloud Nothings, Sonic Youth, Hüsker Dü.
Hayes Noble, shoegaze punk, singer songwriter, noise pop, indie rock, emo punk, emo, folk indie, lo-fi, demos, "Never Blue" album, intimate songs, "Seven", fuzzy guitar, ear splitting live shows, Spokane, Washington,
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