GEMS – Scars

One of my favorite emerging acts of 2013 is back with a new single and new tour dates for the Southeast.  The cinematic dream pop duo GEMS quietly released Scars at midnight last night, a track that both follows an established trajectory and pushes them in new directions.  The first few strums of the reverby guitar are instantly recognizable as a GEMS track, unexpectedly offset by Lindsay’s dissonant introductory refrain.  The track quickly returns to its roots with a classically structured verse and hugely melodic chorus.  Lindsay and Cliff continue to have some of the most distinctive sounding pop songs around and a rock solid artistic identity and direction.  They continually stand out as one of the most exciting emerging acts, and I’m clamoring for their success over here.  Check them out in one of these towns, or head over to Hopscotch Festival in Raleigh this September.

 

Interview: GEMS

Heading to my interview with GEMS I could feel my notebook burning a hole in my bag. It was full of questions, everything you’d expect, and its predictability was haunting me. When I arrived in Chelsea and walked up to Pastis it was drizzling and grey. Medusa gently swayed from my headphones into my brain, filling my thoughts with the dichotomy of lightness and weightiness. Milan Kundera’s Unbearable Lightness of Being sticks out as a literary companion to the Medusa EP, which for me is an exploration of the weight of experiences which gives romance to daily life, and meaning to the human experience. I crumpled up my interview guide and begged the question – can we just have a conversation?

EP Release: GEMS

Dreamy, sexy DC Duo GEMS releases their EP Medusa today.  While three of the four tracks had been previously released, the EP features the new song Ephemera, and over all the collection is fantastic- while each song could be a single, it also makes a cohesive and lush EP.  I’ve been watching these guys and they continue to satisfy- the songwriting is deeply dark at times, deeply romantic all the time.  

GEMS Revisited

DC duo Gems is once again making waves.  Their new single, Medusa, is a further iteration of what was already fantastic about their previous tracks.  Succulent bass, dreamy vocals from Lindsay Pitts, amazing back up from Cliff Usher… god it’s just so good.  I predicted in my last post that this was a rising band, and now with CMJ approaching (check out GEMS at CMJ), I think it’s time for their break.  Yes, bands today have ‘moments’; you know, seize your second of popularity and hype.  GEMS is experiencing that to an extent, but what matters is that this is a band that can support that.  

Rising Band – GEMS

Lindsay Pitts and Clifford John comprise the rising DC duo GEMS.  Like a slow, lucid dream, they’ve created a sonic world in which to lose yourself; Pitt’s dreamy, floating vocals and John’s incredible guitar melodies combine over succulently mid-tempo beats to submerge the audience in a simple yet lush soundscape and embody their collective heartbroken nostalgia.