Biography
Gem Club blends ethereal singing with symphonic textures to produce a refined version of dream pop and chamber pop. The project originated in Somerville, Massachusetts, where singer and pianist Christopher Barnes serves as its central figure; he recruited classically trained cellist Kristen Drymala after encountering her playing at a gathering. In summer 2010 the pair issued the Acid and Everything EP on their own, which drew notice on Paste magazine’s blog while extending the bedroom-recording idea through packaging that included hand-stitched pillowcases. After the duo played several Boston shows, alt-weekly the Phoenix named them Best New Act in its 2011 Best Music Poll. That same year vocalist Ieva Berberian came aboard, turning the lineup into a trio. Their first album, Breakers, appeared that September on Hardly Art, an imprint of Sub Pop. The follow-up, In Roses, arrived in 2014 after being tracked entirely to analog tape at John Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone studios under the guidance of arranger and conductor Minna Choi. By 2021 Gem Club had reverted to a solo operation fronted by founding member Barnes, who put out the single “Spirit & Decline.” Tracks by the project also surfaced in the series Skins, Lucifer, Arrow, the Shannara Chronicles, and Locke & Key, among others.
Albums
Singles
