With summer coming to a close and months of hard work and sleep deprivation ahead here at DU, a soundtrack to keep spirits up and energy vivacious is starting to seem more and more necessary. The first addition to this power playlist should definitely feature the unexpected lyrics and chants of Grouplove’s newest album “Spreading Rumours,” set to be released today, September 17.
The group, based out of Los Angeles, knows how to surprise a crowd, keeping their sound fresh and exciting, yet still maintaining a familiarity that keeps fans hooked. With the extremely successful album “Never Trust a Happy Song,” released in September of 2011, and endless touring with incredible artists from Florence and the Machine to Alt- J, it is a wonder they were able to find time to record their new and highly anticipated album. “Spreading Rumours” continues to champion the voices of youth in terms of how to navigate heartache, love, struggle, and still find the joy, which these five seem to know plenty about.
The eclectic sound of their new album can be heard in the song “Ways to Go,” a feel good anthem similar to their popular songs “Colours” and “Itchin’ on a Photograph” from their first album. This energetic song starts out slowly with a soft piano intro, while lead man Christian Zucconi builds a rapport with his audience as Hannah Hooper follows in with the chant “I got a little bit longer; I got a ways to go.” This song is placed early on the tracklist, working perfectly as a face for their album and showcasing exactly why this band is so widely loved. This song is just one example of how it is hard to label Grouplove with one genre, as “Ways to Go” most easily fits into a synthesized indie pop rock genre, yet leads us into an album that is all over the board.
From indie pop, Grouplove jumps to a harder rock feel with “Borderlines and Aliens,” the second track featured on the album. This pumped-up rebellious tune with uneven and unexpected vocals fits with their past works “Tongue Tied” and “Spun,” but is a little harder and rougher around the edges. This roughness, however, does not compromise the clean polish of their album as a whole. In fact, it fits perfectly, giving the album a mix that is true to their trademark “a song for everyone” type of album. Also fitting well with their theme of harder sound and chant of the rebellious youth are “I’m With You,” the first song in the album, and “Shark Attack.” These two songs build up similarly to “Ways to Go” but are even more explosive, keeping true to a rough rock sound.
In making this well-rounded album, the group adds a few softer songs that still have a chant-like indie pop feel but fit an acoustic sound to balance the energy. “School Boy,” the third song on the tracklist, is an obvious love song that mixes a soft and sensitive cry for a voice to be heard with a tough appeal. But even softer and a bit trippier is the final song of the album, “Save the Party for Me,” an acoustic piece similar to their past work in the track “Slow.” This song is a nice closing to a very unique and true-to-Grouplove album, with the band singing “you can have it all” and leaving the listener with a feeling of completeness.
Grouplove’s genre-jumping style redefines what it means to be eclectic and surprising, continuing with their work as a voice, an anthem even, for the youth of today. Gerard Pannekoek from “A Beer with the Band,” a music review blog, summed it up well when he said, “by incorporating slightly different guitar, keyboard, and vocal timbres in their songs than would typically be found on a rock or pop album, ‘Spreading Rumours’ gains independence from the majority of its contemporaries, an accolade no doubt contributing to Grouplove’s success as a band.”
You can check out their playlist of animated video clips on YouTube, and if the love of this album reins strongly enough, you can see Grouplove perform at 93.3’s Not So Silent Night at the 1st Bank Center on December 1 in Broomfield, Colo.
