Gem Club

'In Roses' (album stream)

BY Alex HudsonPublished Jan 13, 2014

Back in 2011, melancholic Boston pop act Gem Club signed with Sub Pop imprint Hardly Art and released the debut album Breakers. Now, they're following it up with the sophomore disc In Roses. Ahead of the album's January 28 release, it's available to stream in full at Exclaim.ca.

The 11 tracks were recorded in analog at John Vanderslice's Tiny Telephone studio in San Francisco, CA. Arranger/conductor Minna Choi and the Magik*Magik Orchestra helped out with the lush arrangements, marking a big change from the bedroom-brewed sound of Breakers. This translates into the string-laden ambience of "Hypericum," the layered vocals of "Ideas for Strings" and the dramatic sprawl of closer "Polly."

Singer/pianist Christopher Barnes said in a statement, "Whereas Breakers was more about the body and inward-gazing, the new album is about me looking out, relationships I've had or wish I've had."

You can pre-order the album here and check it out below.

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