by Stewart MasonAfter a long bout of writer's block, Irish singer\u002Fsongwriter Gemma Hayes finally returns with a second album that largely ignores the sound that made her debut so striking. Released in 2003, Night on My Side was a dream pop marvel that recalled Lisa Germano's powerful blend of folk-rock simplicity and art rock sonic experimentation, but perhaps producer Dave Fridmann's fingerprints were too much evident on the My Bloody Valentine-meets-Grandaddy feel of the album. The Roads Don't Love You is co-produced by Hayes and Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M., etc.) and has a much more mainstream, almost slick pop sound, helped along by session pros like Jellyfish's Roger Manning (who also co-wrote first single Undercover), guitarists Smokey Hormel (Tom Waits) and Josh Klinghoffer (PJ Harvey), and -- ironically enough -- Lisa Germano herself on violin. Hayes' songs are uniformly strong, particularly the terrific pop\u002Frocker Happy Sad, but the commercially minded production has little of the spooky, atmospheric charm of her debut.