Album Review: Grouplove - Spreading Rumors

Album Rating: A-

Grouplove is a band that is made having fun. Their name alone exudes a special warm feeling. The indie band from LA know exactly how to have a good time, and spend the majority of their new album, Spreading Rumors, doing it. Their 2011 debut album, Never Trust A Happy Song, was a rambunctious romp through spacey synths and gang-vocalizations. This trend is continued without a hitch on Spreading Rumors, where the band truly grows into themselves as musicians and as a collective.

Spreading Rumors starts off on a slow note with the building, indie rocker "I'm With You." It's after this that the album explodes with the pure energy of "Borderlines and Aliens."From here on out, it is blast after blast of fun and vigor. The enjoyment of the band playing these songs is evident on each track, and it rubs off on you very quickly as each unique track puts a smile on your face.

It is somewhat rare for a band to have two vocalists that compliment themselves as much as Grouplove's Christian Zucconi and Hannah Hooper do. While Christian takes the lead on most tracks, Hannah's additions are what really make the songs shine. Take for example the electro-tinged anthem "Ways To Go," where the duo feed off each other immaculately during the songs chorus. It makes for one of the greatest songs I have heard all year, and even though it was released as a single in June, I still play it multiple times a week.

The band has also tightened their instrumentation to a point. Guitar lines are interesting and reminiscent of newer Smashing Pumpkins, and the slight electronics put a cherry on top of the already sweet  sounds. The album does tend to drag on slightly near the end, completely due to the fact that the songs are mostly lengthy and the track list is not entirely short. This doesn't hurt the album much at all though, and the abundance of songs and styles is a nice surprise from the band. Vocal lines with worming melodies are found throughout the album ("Schoolboy," "Didn't Have To Go") and the pure fun and energy of the band is prominent.

Grouplove are a group that remains very underrated in the indie music world, and Spreading Rumors may unfortunately go a bit unnoticed this year. It is a true shame, because the band has extreme potential and has created another great album.

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Track list:

1. I'm With You
2. Borderlines and Aliens
3. Schoolboy
4. Ways To Go
5. Shark Attack
6. Sit Still
7. Hippy Hill
8. What I Know
9. Didn't Have To Go
10. Bitin The Bullet
11. News To Me
12. Raspberry
13. Save The Party For Me