Gemma - Be About It

Please note these jackets have slight damage, but the vinyl is in perfect condition

Gemma is the New York–based duo of singer/songwriter Felicia Douglass and producer/multi-instrumentalist Erik Gundel. Be About It, their first album since 2019, emerges from a long period of quiet development—years spent trading demos, revisiting half-formed ideas, and allowing songs to evolve without urgency. That patience shapes the record’s tone: expansive but focused, emotionally open yet carefully constructed.

Lyrically, Be About It is concerned with perspective—how people make sense of where they are after change, loss, or emotional upheaval. Rather than telling linear stories, Douglass writes from shifting vantage points, circling nostalgia, desire, grief, and connection without resolving them too neatly. Songs like “Thinking Ahead” and “Simple Outlook” present contrasting ways of relating to time: one driven by momentum and avoidance, the other by reflection and acceptance. Across the album, there’s a recurring desire to slow down, reassess, and choose presence over distraction.

That perspective extends to the album’s emotional range. “Anomaly” captures the restless energy of city life and early adulthood, while the title track explores an intense, ungrounded love that feels liberating in the moment but difficult to stabilize. Elsewhere, “Hang On,” “No Sense,” and “Evaporate” trace different stages of attachment and release—holding on, realizing something has ended, and learning how to sit with what remains. A quieter political awareness surfaces in “Keepsake,” shaped by frustration with apathy during the Black Lives Matter movement.

Musically, Be About It reflects Gundel’s meticulous, exploratory approach to production. The album blends samples with live drums, bass, keyboards, guitars, vibraphone, and analog synthesizers, alongside sweeping string arrangements by Simon Hanes. The songs unfold gradually, favoring texture and movement over immediacy, the kind of sonic space that rewards repeat listens. Touchstones include the dramatic weight of early Scott Walker, the fluid rhythmic sophistication of LTJ Bukem, and the warm, exploratory looseness of Yo La Tengo—references that speak less to genre than to Gemma’s interest in space, pacing, and detail.

Ultimately, Be About It is a record about showing up—emotionally, relationally, and creatively. It doesn’t argue for certainty or closure, but for clarity of outlook: paying attention to where you are, how you got there, and who you’re trying to stay connected to as things continue to change.