Gem

Hexed (Restless)
by Joshua Brown

Gem are the all-star game of Ohio indie rock, with members of Cobra Verde, Prisonshake, and Death of Samantha. Big fuckin’ deal, you might say. That fact in and of itself doesn’t necessarily amount to more than a hill of cheap jewelry. Well, there is little room or reason for innovation when one’s business is finding and shaping precious gemstones. It’s about scouring a mountain of generic rocks, to hopefully discover something shiny and rare. Hexed shines more often than not, particularly on the opening track “Sheep,” which is a fast rocker executed with full melodic control – like riding a long, straight desert road in an expensive sportscar, when it almost seems like you’re standing still until you look next to you and see cacti flitting by faster than the eye can register.

Another shiner is “Suburban Girl,” which sounds like the Descendents all grown up. The rarity element comes in with the immediately evident wealth of experience the band has had collectively in underground rock ‘n’ roll. They possess a case-hardened outlook on what works and what doesn’t. The cutting of gemstones is an art steeped in tradition, in which there is a limited array of shapes to choose from. The formation of riffs, hooks, beats, and melody is executed by Gem with the same aforementioned conservative precision. One can appreciate Gem for who they are and for all the work they’ve done over the years to come to this latest synthesis, while simultaneously scolding them for their failure to realize that rock ‘n’ roll is nothing like gemology, that perfecting it is neither possible, nor desirable.