The newly formed project recorded their self-titled demo in 2008. Shortly following the recording process, Craig Kleila and John Leibold left the band to move away to college. Once the demo was released, it attracted the attention of Neil Rubenstein, a Long Island musician who had performed with the Glassjaw precursor Sons of Abraham and sung on the first two Taking Back Sunday albums. Rubenstein first helped the band secure radio play on K Rock, and began booking the band soon after through Sons Modern. In May 2009, the band announced that they would perform at the Bamboozle Festival at the Meadowlands in New Jersey with artists such as No Doubt, Taking Back Sunday, The Get Up Kids, and many others. They were also featured in Spin Magazine as "One of 15-Must Hear Bands at Bamboozle Fest". Spin Magazine called them "Jimmy Eat World meets The Decemberists".
In May 2009, after the band played the Bamboozle Festival, they retreated to VuDu Studios in Freeport, New York to record their follow up EP with producer Mike Watts. They announced that the album would be called "Your Friends and Loved Ones" due to the fact that family and friends are what supported and continue to support the band through its endeavors. After the recording process was over, the band embarked on two small tours; one with Destry and The Narrative, the other with The Forecast. In August, the band completed their first United States tour with the pop-punk tinged bands Asteria and Theatre Breaks Loose and the indie-electro tinged A Love Like Pi. Following their summer tour, the band opened for The Dear Hunter and later The Sleeping in September. It was at this time that the band released the five-song "Your Friends and Loved Ones" EP, to critical acclaim. Absolutepunk.net stated that the album was "phenomenal post emo orchestral rock", and users gave it a 92% rating. The newspaper, Newsday called it "Post-emo orchestral tenderness combined with well-crafted storytelling". The last track off of the EP, "The Ocean" was featured on Keeping Up with the Kardashians. In October, the band performed at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, and soon after was named by Purevolume.com as "One of the Top 20 Unsigned Artists of 2009". Purevolume then released a live ep entitled "Gabriel the Marine: Live From the Purevolume House". By December 2009 the band won a contest to open for the Danish post rock band Mew during a part of their North American tour. Later in the month, rumors began circulating that the influential post hardcore band, Glassjaw, would be playing at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey as a part of the Sons Modern Christmas Party. Gabriel opened the show along with Bad Rabbits, Robbers, and Sainthood Reps. In January 2010 the band embarked on an east coast tour with John Nolan and Ocean is Theory. Soon after, bassist Robbie Hassett was kicked out of the band.
In May 2010 the band played at the Bamboozle Festival at the Meadowlands in New Jersey with headliners Paramore, Weezer, MGMT, and Drake. They performed on the Aquarian Stage with similar artists All the Day Holiday and Moving Mountains. Soon after they completed a north east tour with the Maryland-based band Hotspur. In June 2010, the acclaimed alternative rock band Taking Back Sunday announced that Gabriel would be opening up for them during their June tour at the Metro in Chicago. Soon after this, the band announced that they had been writing a new full-length album slated to be released sometime in 2011. They entered the studio in January 2011 with producer Jim Wirt to begin recording. Their music was recently featured on Kourtney and Kim Take New York, a reality TV show.
