Gem Club,

In Roses (out January 28, Hardly Art, iamgemclub.com) Judging by its component parts, In Roses seems pretty simple, but the final product is much more complex. Utilizing just piano, cello, and vocals, Gem Club weaves together one delicate story after another. Singer/pianist Christopher Barnes’ falsetto is reminiscent of those of Tom Krell (How to Dress Well) and Justin Ringle (Horse Feathers), while singer Ieva Berberian’s airy lilt adds a bit of elegance to each song and cellist Kristen Drymala contrasts the album’s ambient lightness with a sonorous heft. There’s a somber beauty in the Massachusetts-based trio’s music, a sound also heard on its 2011 debut album Breakers. The two albums share a tone that’s somehow both melancholic and hopeful; and yet In Roses, Gem Club’s first with Berberian, is more sonically expansive. Whereas the songs on Breakers don’t stray too far from a single tempo, those on In Roses do, while also playing with subtle crescendos and sweeping melodies. Gem Club’s strength lies in knowing when to highlight each piece of its ensemble. At times, near the end of “First Weeks” or album-closer “Polly,” for example, Barnes and Berberian step aside as vocalists to let the piano and cello intertwine to create a reflective mood. At others, during “Soft Season,” for instance, vocals take center stage, as Barnes and Berberian show how well their voices blend over soft piano notes. Here too there is a subtle difference: While the lyrics maintain a reflective quality, that reflection moves from an inward focus on Breakers to a relationship focus on In Roses. All these subtle changes between the two albums show that Gem Club is comfortable in its genre, unafraid to experiment. AZARIA C. PODPLESKY

Girl Trouble,

Hit It or Quit It (out now, K Records and Sub Pop, subpop.com) Tacoma has made countless contributions to the Northwest’s history, culture, and punch lines—from the famed aroma to Ted Bundy. Musically, we have the City of Destiny to thank for Bing Crosby, Neko Case, Jerry Cantrell, and the Sonics, to name just a few. But for a sound that defines the perpetual underdog city to the south, we need look no further than one band with one distinctive lo-fi garage-rock sound. Back in 1988, before grunge was a household term and Seattle had covered the world in flannel, shirtless lead singer KP Kendall, madman guitarist Kahuna, back-beat drummer Bon Von Wheelie, and mysterious bassist Dale Phillips gave birth to Girl Trouble’s debut LP, Hit It or Quit It, a co-release from K Records and Sub Pop. While Girl Trouble never saw the success some of its contemporaries did—much like the town the band has so proudly claimed for three decades—the record is a gritty, quintessentially Tacoman masterpiece that still holds a place in rock annals, and not just because it was Sub Pop’s first full-length LP. Now, a quarter-century later, it’s being re-released by K and Sub Pop, a nod to the past for an endearing record that’s, surprisingly, just as searing as the moment it was pressed. Opening with “Wrecking Ball,” careening into “Hot Monkey Love” and “Riverbed,” and riding a Northwest surf-rock wave through “Where’s the Loser,” Hit It or Quit It—recorded mostly live, and probably produced for the price of a case of Oly—captures a band at its finest and a town at its truest. Bonus tracks “White Lightning” and “Shakin’ All Over” only sweeten the deal for music buffs. Thirty years after their first show, Girl Trouble may not be famous and may still practice in the same shed, but there’s no denying the indelible mark these Tacomans made on Northwest music history. Respect. MATT DRISCOLL

Jeremy Jay, Abandoned Apartments (out now, K Records, krecs.com) In “Covered in Ivy,” California-born, London-based Jeremy Jay sings “Settle down/Hole up for the winter.” Based on the sense of isolation of Abandoned Apartments, it’s safe to say Jay has taken his own words to heart. His voice echoes slightly throughout each of the album’s 10 tracks, making it sound like he recorded it—his fifth full-length on K Records following 2011’s Dream Diary—alone in an empty room (an abandoned apartment, perhaps?) rather than a proper studio. Other lyrics, like “Footsteps in a darkened street/Colors fading fast” from opener “Sentimental Expressway,” add to the isolation. It’s not until the addition of guitar and percussion at the end of “Covered in Ivy,” the second track, that Abandoned Apartments’ sound begins to fill out. Yet Jay continues to express the lonely vibe through a variety of sounds, from “Sentimental Expressway” ’s dark synths to the bluesy “I Was Waiting” (which features a few bits of spoken word about carrying memories in bottles and having difficulties traveling to California) to “Far and Near,” with its groovy bass line. Abandoned Apartments has a much darker, goth tone than Jay’s previous releases, especially compared to Dream Diary. At times a few elements become muddled and obscure Jay’s lyrics, and there’s a rough quality to his vocals, almost as if he decided to use each first take no matter what. It’s not a bad choice; it just makes the album seem a little incomplete. Looking at his varied discography, it’s difficult to predict how Jay’s music will evolve, but judging by Abandoned Apartments, a darker sound has definitely become part of his repertoire. AZARIA C. PODPLESKY