Californian indie-pop band Grouplove are more than just your typical Tumblr hippies who stroll around with long hair and hats. Their third studio album Big Mess shows the growth and maturity of the band, whilst remaining authentic and true to their playful indie-pop vibes.
Having toured with Florence and the Machine and played at several festivals including Lollapalooza and Coachella, Grouplove has built a respectable reputation for themselves ahead of their third studio album release Big Mess. An album attributed to lead vocalists Hannah Hooper and Christian Zucconi’s baby girl, the band has retained its exuberant over-the- top pop hooks while showing a progression to a more ‘radio friendly’ aesthetic over the 11 tracks.
Being introduced to the opening track, ‘Welcome to Your Life’ embodies the classic Grouplove vibe, with Hooper and Zucconi’s vocals a perfect blend of harmonisation layered upon the folk guitar and synth. ‘Standing in The Sun’ provides listeners to a different tempo to the opening tracks, with a slow build up combined with tambourine bashes and finger snapping. The track embodies the warm feeling of skipping barefoot along a Californian beach with the tide trickling against the toes. Diverse tracks like these sprinkled throughout its entirety make the album seem more radio friendly and coherent than some of their other releases.
Each track paints a distinct and colourful picture or mood, with some tracks encompassing indie-rock vibes, while others are more pop and even melodic. The band is able to create a sound of their own and allow the listener to gain a perspective on life and its beauty amidst the chaos.
A number like ‘Good Morning’ is bound to motivate in moving your butt ut of bed at 6am, so good tip would be to set it as your alarm tone. On the other spectrum, ‘Traumatized’ represents a grunge ‘Nirvana’ inspired sound with raw vocals.
After ten tracks of catchy, singing and head bopping tunes, you would expect nothing less for the outro track. Instead, you are hit with ‘Hollywood’, toned down with sweet romantic harmonies tied with the longing for an absent love.
The vocals, lyrics and instrumentation tie together well, with each component having their shining moments. With this set to be one of the albums of the summer, get your Havaianas, floppy hats and floating flamingos ready for some sing-alongs by the pool. As the first line of the album says, “We’re back in business.” You have been warned.
