Formed out of the most annoyingly arty and inspiring stories, Grouplove began life by the chance meeting of Hannah Hooper and Christian Zucconi in Manhattan.
An opportunity for Hooper to take part in an art residency in Crete, Greece influenced Zucconi to follow her, and facilitated the meeting of the further members of what is now Grouplove. Their debut EP ‘Colours’, which has already received critical acclaim from music bloggers right along to national music press, is due out on the 7th February, and I can promise you it’ll be one of your best purchases of the year. Support for the evening was supplied by Patterns, a local Manchester band that is gaining increasing attention for the blurred guitar pop sound they so effortlessly create. The vocalist even sounds a bit ‘Smiths-y’, which can only be exciting.
Patterns:
Patterns were a pleasant surprise for a support act at a small gig; they were actually very good. While their low tempo sound was somewhat at odds with the sound many were expecting from Grouplove, Patterns still managed to entertain myself and the audience. It is hard to pigeon hole the sound Patterns have created, though it lies somewhere around chillwave and shoegaze. Dreamy, abstracted and whole heartedly atmospheric, each track felt like a separate and definite experience, which were all navigated by transcendental vocals that matched the serenity of the music. Their debut EP. ‘New Noise‘ is already out, and is very much worth a listen!
8/10
Grouplove:
Looking and sounding annoyingly perfect .. well, they are. Energetic and honestly enthusiastic, Grouplove‘s short set was an absolute delight to witness. Up tempo and addictively melodic, Zucconi and Hooper’s vocals harmonized superbly to create a idealistic and eternally optimistic sound that I was more willing to buy in to. Positioned across the stage, each track would provoke a series of head banging and wild dancing from the band that only served to further the fun intensity that this set was so concentrated with. Colours and Naked Kids, perhaps if they had been released later in the year, could easily be summer anthems, with uplifting vocals and projecting feelings of a lack of responsibility through jangly guitars and percussion. Gold Coast provided a sole breakaway to a slower and introspective track that felt almost like a contemplative come down from what had preceded it, though it also proved that these crazy kids were much more than just happy go lucky musicians. A particular highlight was Don’t Say Oh Well, which seemed to strike a balance between the likes of Naked Kids and Gold Coast. Don’t Say Oh Well in many ways provides a succinct summary of Grouplove and their music, insofar as a sound that is inspired to lift your soul, and a band that you’d want as your friends at festivals, parties and on adventures in your VW Campervan.
9/10