It’s incredibly difficult for a band to cut through the overwhelming din of competitors in the musical world, but Chicago electro rockers Gemini Club are starting to hack away at the white noise and are getting recognition from everywhere. The four-piece started working and recording tracks a few years ago by combining their love of rock and electronica into an intoxicating stew of expansive Springsteen arena rockers and bedroom electropop; many times within the same song.
Lead singer Tom Gavin, producer/guitarists Dan Brunelle and Gordon Bramli, and drummer Ryan Luciani have been playing music together in various forms and combinations for years, so their comfort is evident in how tight and controlled the music is. Even when they hit their most chaotic, raving points, the band is never off the rails; everything is very specifically crafted and in place. The music could very easily go very wrong very quickly, but Gemini Club manages to hold tight the reins of insanity. Nothing is ever too distracting or over the top, and for as intricate as the songs are, they’re still simple enough to work on a quiet nighttime level; as appropriate in the club as alone in car on a dark back road.
Tracks like “Sparklers”, which Red Bull Sound Select helped produce a beautifully dizzying video for, take the quiet-loud-quiet trope and spin it off into heartfelt pop that can quietly draw you in close before blowing your hair back. Whereas “By Surprise” utilizes a clean combination of looping and jumping synths and hard-to-the-floor drumming to create an honest to goodness rock/club banger. It isn’t easy to make both rock ‘n roll and club kids dance to same song at the same time, but Gemini Club has managed to build their whole sound on this idea, and it’s working.
Watching Gemini Club perform is entertaining not just for the music, but also how Brunelle and Bramli seamlessly move from pummeling guitars to tweaking knobs and dials on various synths, loops, and work stations, and Gavin’s high energy work as frontman. After back-to-back years of rocking Lollapalooza, and tours with bands like Interpol, The Sounds, and Chromeo, both the rock world and the electronic world are taking notice. Red Bull has chosen them for their Red Bull Sound Select series alongside other emerging talent making a huge splash around the country. With such a giant following behind them already, this distinction by Red Bull Sound Select is sure to push Gemini Club into a whole other level of exposure.
Gemini Club will kick off Red Bull Sound Select’s 30 Days in LA event on November 1st at the Luxe City Center Hotel Parking Lot. They’ll perform alongside Cut Copy and Wrestlers.