When discussing the formation of The Gems it’s almost impossible as a writer to not bring up Thundermother, Especially in the context of the subject matter of some of these songs. Without Thundermother you don’t have The Gems.
After the implosion of the first line up of Thundermother that band came back as a four piece instead of the five piece it used to be and went on to record their best, Most successful material to date. A big part of that is singer Guernica Mancini, Guernica is a world class powerhouse singer who is one of the best around in my opinion. Great rock songs can be made even greater when you have a singer that can blow the roof off with those songs and there’s no denying Guernica elevated Thundermother.
The other great consistent addition was drummer Emlee Johansson whose powerful playing style added the necessary punch and technical finesse to drive those songs. Thundermother went through a revolving door of bass players before bringing in Mona Lindgren prior to the recording of the last Thundermother album Black and Gold and Mona quickly became a favorite. I’ve heard she’s played around in the scene but I confess that I don’t really know her history as a musician, So maybe it will come as a surprise to you the reader as it did for me that in The Gems Mona not only did the bass on the record but she’s the main guitarist in this band and she’s actually really good at it!
I’ll leave the how and the why of Guernica, Emlee, and Mona’s separation from Thundermother for you to research if you desire but their friendship led them to stand in solidarity with each other and thus The Gems was born. If you were/are a fan of their former band you’ll definitely love The Gems, the songs aren’t far removed from what fans know these ladies for but I’d say with less of a big AC/DC influence.
A thunder crack and a pounding kick drum beat kicks off album opener “Aurora – Interlude” before Guernica starts singing a Nordic ballad not far from something Eclipse would have written, It’s a short intro that left me feeling like this would’ve been a great song had it been fully fleshed out, it’s a beautiful start to the record all the same.
That track builds up at the end to lead into the album’s first proper song “Queens” which has some great heavier riffs with a dash of Cheap Trick thrown in for good measure, Thematically it pays tribute to the women of rock n roll who paved the way for all who followed. I feel the amount of breakdowns in the chorus throw off the momentum of the rest of the song but the rest is decent.
“Send Me To The Wolves” was one of the first singles released and this one really had me dying to hear what they would do next, as a fan of what these ladies did in their prior band this song hit all the right notes with me. A great drum groove pounds behind Guernica’s powerful vocals while Mona brings in some very Led Zeppelin inspired riffs. The way this song hits and flows is impeccable.
Next up is “Domino” which has a heavy influence of Dire Straits “Money For Nothing” in the guitar riff of this song but with some bluesier elements, I even get a bit of Heart in the sound of this song. For me, this is one of the best songs on the album.
“Silver Tongue” is a fairly pointed jab at their former band mate, it’s a decent enough energetic rocker with a strong 70’s rock influence.
Next up is “Undiscovered Paths” which starts out with some mesmerizing vocal harmonizing before kicking into a driving mid tempo rocker, this song is more modern sounding than the rest of the songs up to this point.
“Maria’s Song – Interlude” is a pretty violin piece even if it doesn’t feel like it connects as a lead in to the next song “Ease Your Pain” a fantastic ballad that isn’t far removed from a song Guernica sang in Thundermother called “Sleep” but I think this song is much more epic and soulful, the progression from acoustic playing to electric power balladry is flawless, definitely one of the best songs on the album. Mona delivers a great guitar solo on this song and of course Guernica really knocks it out of the park vocally.
“Running” storms right out of the gate with a great driving drum rhythm by Emlee, She really does fantastic playing on this album. This is a fantastic hard hitting track with energetic performances by everyone involved, fantastic driving rhythms and soaring vocals give way to a great guitar solo. Absolutely killer track.
If I have one critique of this album it’s that these interludes seem like wasted opportunities, each of them have fantastic melodies that would make them great songs on their own and all but the first one don’t really contribute to the track that follows them because their melodies don’t lead into the melody of the next song seamlessly. As is the case with “Renaissance – Interlude” on it’s own merit it would’ve been a cool beginning of a song and even though it’s a rock interlude, it don’t connect seamlessly with the song that follows it, one of the albums best rock tracks “Like A Phoenix”
This song is a scorcher of a track, great rocking riffs and powerful drums drive Guernica’s powerful vocals. This song is a mission statement more than anything else, a top notch rocking anthem about rising above what tried to tear you down and blazing your own trails stronger than ever and what mentality is more rock n roll than that?! Something these ladies exemplify in what they’ve done here.
“P.S.Y.C.H.O.” Kicks off with some great drums and is the sort of song that these ladies excelled at in their former band, which given the subject matter is kind of ironic. I can see this song going over really well live with its chorus shouting each letter of the title and overall energetic pace.
Next up is “Kiss It Goodbye” which has a guitar riff that recalls Van Halen’s “Running With The Devil” this is a great grooving track that will get you moving.
“Force Of Nature” is another track where I get a slight Cheap Trick influence on the riff and slight Black Sabbath flourishes scattered through the song, the bass makes more of an impact on this track than it does on the rest.
Next up is “Fruits Of My Labor” a slower tempo rocker that is a decent enough track, The performances are solid, But it just didn’t hook me the way most of the rest of these songs did. Maybe this one will grow on me in time.
Acoustic renditions of songs can be hit and miss, But if you bought the deluxe edition of Heat Wave from Thundermother and heard the acoustic versions of a couple of the songs from that record you’ll know that Guernica and Emlee (Mona wasn’t in the band at that time) know how to do that switch up really well and this is exemplified on the album’s final song, and acoustic rendition of “Like A Phoenix”
Guernica pulls no punches with the vocal delivery despite the song being stripped down, this version is fantastic and is its own animal musically. I frankly couldn’t tell you which version of this incredible song I like better, they’re both that good and each stands on its own.
As debut albums go this is a good one and if like me you are a fan of Guernica, Emlee, and Mona and what they did in their prior band you’ll definitely love what they’ve done with this band. Three interludes are a bit much but The Gems make up for it by giving you a full length album’s worth of songs.
Guernica, Emlee, and Mona had already proved how great they are in their prior band. With The Gems they really flexed their wings and achieved the best case scenario, maintaining what people loved about the music they had become known for while forging ahead successfully with a sound all their own. Rock fans should definitely not miss the debut album from The Gems.
8/10