[stream the record] Gem Club, 'Breakers'

A ton of bands have made a ton of records that self-consciously mine the intimate, whispery chamber-folk of the first Iron and Wine or Bon Iver records. Most of ‘em ain’t worth shit. Boston’s GEM CLUB, on the other hand, are in the big leagues: achingly quiet, blissfully soft, and heartbreakingly pretty. With just a single EP under their belt, our readers voted this Somerville duo the Best New Act in our 2011 Best Music Poll. And Breakers, their debut album on Sub Pop’s Hardly Art imprint, is otherwordly.

Christopher Barnes’ and Kristen Dymala’s gay-boy/shy-girl harmonies simmer and sparkle under delicate piano chords and swooning strings on epic downer slowjams like “I Heard the Party.” For better or worse their album-launch party earlier this month at the Lilypad is about as close as they’ll have come to playing your bedroom.

STREAM: GEM CLUB, Breakers [soundcloud]

Also, we found this on Gem Club's tumblr and had to re-post: