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.

Live Review: Leeds Festival, Part 3 Of 3

Friday and Saturday of Leeds 2011 had been great, but even a cursory look at the lineup would tell you that the third and final day was where the fun and games lay. The NME/Radio 1 and Festival Republic Stages looked strong as ever, while the Lock-Up Stage made a welcome return after it had been transformed to the Dance Stage the day before. The days highlights didn't take much seeking out, though, since most of them were positioned on the Main Stage. Things came to a head with the festivals' first 'co-headliners,' The Strokes and Pulp, but there was also gold to be found earlier on in the day, with critical darlings The National, emo legends Jimmy Eat World and timeless festival veterans Madness all coming in late afternoon. It was a day that promised much, and proved to live up to every expectation and then some...

SUNDAY (28/08/2011)

After two days which had been mixed at best on the weather front, the sunshine finally made a long overdue appearance late on Sunday morning. This only worked to improve the atmosphere on site, but Main Stage openers The Joy Formidable still had the strong wind to contend with. Nevertheless, the Welsh rockers managed to battle the elements and played a solid set drawing from their excellent debut album The Big Roar - which is one of my personal favourites from this year. Some of their unnecessary instrumental jams did get lost in the bluster, but the quality of songs such as 'Whirring' and 'The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade' was more than enough to see them reign supreme. There are plenty of bands out there that try to resurrect the qualities of grunge and shoegaze, but few do it as well as this trio, and although this wasn't the best I've seen them it was still a solid way to get the day underway.

Album Review: Grouplove - Never Trust A Happy Song

Really, you have to wonder whose bright idea it was not to release Never Trust A Happy Song until now. It’s timing is appalling, given that Grouplove’s debut album is in essence the perfect summer record. Even now, I can imagine people sipping cocktails, lounging on the beach, getting wasted at house parties, or whatever else they do with their mid-year months with this album blasting in the background, so to release it no sooner than the leaves have begun to mellow seems like a missed opportunity to say the least. Poor marketing should not, however, detract from what a good album this is, and with a bit of luck they should still be able to come back and rule the festival circuit next year.

Artist Spotlight: Grouplove

I don’t like EP’s. That may sound a little ignorant, but to me the vast majority of them are either made up of half-arsed ideas not deemed good enough for full albums, or are stop-gaps which are simply rehashed once the LP drops. I still listen regardless, since they waste comparatively little of my time, but it usually takes something quite exceptional to really catch my attention within such a format. One band who did just that earlier in the year, though, were LA quintet Grouplove, with their self-titled debut release.

Revolving around themes such as the beach and surfing, their brand of sun-drenched indie-pop hardley represents pastures new, but there's an undeniable warmth and bounce to their songs which can put last year's slacker stars like Wavves and Best Coast to shame. In truth, not all of the six tracks hit the spot, but those which do hint at a rich potential which could be realised come the release of their full-length in September. They may have missed a trick with the autumn release date, as it’s bound to sound great in hazy afternoon festival slots, but if the rest of the record meets the golden standard set by signature song "Colours" then it really wont matter.

The album, entitled Never Trust a Happy Song is due to be released on September 5th in the UK, and September 13th in the US. In the meantime, you can stream most of the EP on the band’s Myspace.