Grouplove‘s humble beginnings sound like something from a Hollywood script. Hannah Hooper and Christian Zucconi, the band’s principal lead vocalists, met by chance in New York City and instantly felt a connection. So much so that the two shortly went to a little island in Greece together, where again serendipity stepped in, allowing the two to meet their future band members: London guitarist Sean Gadd and two childhood friends from California, Andrew Wessen and Ryan Rabin. These five people couldn’t have been anymore different, but they felt such a strong bond that they all packed up from their respective homes and went out to Los Angeles to try and record an album together. The result is the Grouplove EP, six songs that prove their friendship translates to musical harmony.
The EP opener, “Colours,” is currently on BBC 6music‘s playlist and getting a lot of airplay, a coup for any band. Zucconi’s lead vocal is brash yet fun, an indication of things to come, and it’s augmented by Hooper’s winsome harmonies. I’d seen the song title a long time ago, assuming that the band had to be British. The band recently supported Northern Ireland’s Two Door Cinema Club and Welsh indie band the Joy Formidable this past autumn, and while I missed their appearance with Two Door in DC, I did catch their energetic set in November with the Welsh rockers. Imagine my surprise that 4/5ths of Grouplove was American.
My next hesitation about Grouplove was that here in front of me was another band trying to cash in on the American / California surf pop boom of 2010, a movement that I’ve generally avoided like the plague because everyone sounds like retooled Go-Go’s (girl-fronted bands) or Beach Boys (boy-fronted ones). The difference with Grouplove is that here are five friends who really enjoy each other’s company and making music together, and this is obvious when they play live. They don’t sound like they’re trying to ape some other band’s catalog. Sure, there is the sun-dappled cheerfulness of “Naked Kids,” which has angelic vocals that make you think of ’60s surf pop bands; it’s the perfect tune to queue up on your convertible sound system on the way to the beach.
But there’s also more meditative moments, like “Gold Coast,” a melancholy look back at one’s life, and “Getaway,” another slower one where Yosemite Sam lookalike Gadd takes lead vocal duties. Despite its title, “Giddy” is anything but: it’s a slow, swirly, enjoyable track. But the best moment on this EP is “Don’t Say Oh Well,” the song I can totally see as soundtracking this summer with a raucous count-in and all of its hand clapping, foot stomping, free-wheeling guitar pop glory. Grouplove are the kind of friends everyone wish they had as best mates.
Tracklisting
01. Colours
02. Naked Kids
03. Gold Coast
04. Getaway
05. Don’t Say Oh Well
06. Giddy
The Grouplove EP will be released on January 25 on Atlantic / WEA.
