It\u2019s almost the start of fall, and I realize that I\u2019ve never given props to one of the albums that ruled my summer. Though it was actually released in September of 2011, this debut full-length from LA indie poppers Grouplove experienced a slow rise to its eventual sizzling of the airwaves and festival circuits. Of course, you will undoubtedly recognize second single \u201cTongue Tied\u201d from its appearance in the Apple iTouch commercial, and it\u2019s that effervescent, pop charmer that gave most of us our first hint at what Grouplove could do. Tellingly, it\u2019s also their first number one Billboard hit. <\/p>\n
Never Trust A Happy Song <\/i>is a pretty deceptive title, since most of the material here is gloriously upbeat pop, absolutely kinetic with energy. My most immediate comparison is Modest Mouse, minus the pathos; Christian Zucconi\u2019s rough, rafter-reaching vocals absolutely recall Isaac Brock, though Zucconi\u2019s vocal interplay with girlfriend Hannah Hooper adds in some nice lightness. <\/p>\n
The album itself is definitely front-loaded. First out of the gate is the anthemic \u201cItchin\u2019 On A Photograph,\u201d which is tricked out with handclaps, relentlessly building guitars, and a chorus that begs to be sung along to. It\u2019s a sun-kissed moment, designed for hurtling down a highway in late summer. Next up comes the swirling, foot-stomping thrills of \u201cTongue Tied\u201d and \u201cLovely Cup,\u201d which keep the momentum moving headlong. <\/p>\n
But \u201cColours\u201d is the peak of this album \u2013 strangely enough, since it comes directly copy and pasted from their 2010 self-titled EP (along with \u201cNaked Kids,\u201d which shows up later in the album). Still, I guess there\u2019s nothing wrong with mining your own material, especially when this cut is so good. It starts out a coiled buzz of energy but quickly explodes into a flurry of shimmering guitars and drums. Zucconi\u2019s wailed refrain \u201cWe call it life \/ Oh yeah that\u2019s what we call it \/ When you can\u2019t call it at all\u201d brings the song towards its resonant, cathartic close, until all that\u2019s left is a tinkling of tambourine.<\/p>\n
So when Grouplove is good, they\u2019re quite good \u2013 passionate, energetic, and creative. But remember when I mentioned this album being frontloaded? Once you pass the halfway point with \u201cSlow\u201d \u2013 which is a lovely, well, slow-burner, bringing Hooper\u2019s ethereal vocals to the forefront \u2013 things start to get a little hit-or-miss. I can\u2019t see why \u201cNaked Kids\u201d was good enough to make a second appearance on this disc. It\u2019s meant to be cheerful and lighthearted, but it just comes off as cheesy and insubstantial; I hit my breaking point when \u201cfree\u201d was rhymed with \u201cOprah Winfrey.\u201d Meanwhile, \u201cSpun\u201d and \u201cBetty\u2019s Bomb Shell\u201d are inconsequential filler that veer from the sound that actually gave Grouplove their distinctiveness, and \u201cChloe\u201d is catchy, but a million other indie bands have used the same formula. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s the disc\u2019s penultimate cut that gives some sense of what the band can do: \u201cCruel And Beautiful World\u201d is a quiet, spare duet between Zucconi and Hooper, just vocals, ukulele, and a soaring chorus: \u201cIt\u2019s a cruel and beautiful world \/ And I got my girl \/ And if it seems like we\u2019re falling behind \/ We\u2019re just slippin\u2019 and tuggin\u2019 from the mouths of our minds.\u201d It\u2019s a promising song, and should\u2019ve stood alone as the closer. But being that the band hasn\u2019t quite figured out their pacing yet, they tack on another instance of filler with \u201cClose Your Eyes And Count To Ten.\u201d <\/p>\n
I saw Grouplove live in July at the Firefly Festival in Delaware, and the show itself was remarkably similar to the album: the singles were met with a thrilling reception, but the rest of the material had trouble hitting its stride. Still, Never Trust A Happy Song <\/i>is a promising start for these Californians, and as long as they can keep up the fresh, vibrant energy, there\u2019s a spot for them in the indie scene. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":31118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[8938],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-42804","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-grouplove","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=42804"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=42804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}