Grouplove at The Academy, Dublin on February 23rd 2012
There’s a fine line between cheesy and plain blissfully upbeat, and Grouplove walk just the right side of it. While at their weakest, their lyrics can be chronically throwaway or just plain indecipherable, that’s just about the only negative you can throw the way of a group formed on a holiday island, and living life very much like they never got round to leaving.
Grouplove’s Greek-summer story is one of sheer wondrous serendipity: a perfect romance, extremely closely followed by a spur-of-the-moment holiday and topped off by a meeting of minds in the summer sun and an indie pop band that quickly became the envy of plenty. Their style is simple: a quirky take on life, viewed through abstract colours, friendships and house parties, and performed with the bounding, smiling energy that only a back story like theirs could even begin to explain.
The energy’s what makes Grouplove. Sure, ‘Colours’ (a predictable yet ecstatic closer) and ‘Itchin’ On A Photograph’ are stunning pop songs in their own right, but its Christian’s amp-jump, Hannah’s hip-swivels and Sean’s attempts to do the splits whilst blasting away on his bass that make them in a live setting. To do all that whilst maintaining an almost album-tight sound suggests the building blocks for a truly huge alt.pop band are in place.
Tonight kicks off with all that energy channelled straight into some peppy album staples, from the infectious ‘Naked Kids’ to an absorbingly pulsating ‘Chloe’. Grouplove are masters of the mid-set lull, though, and bring things down to earth a little with some harmonies and slower numbers in ‘Cruel and Beautiful World’ (a far more slow-euphoric number than the title suggests) and early career-making EP track ‘Gold Coast’. Their one true misstep comes out, too – ‘Lovely Cup’ – a track that’s positivity and playfulness can’t quite overcome the fact that its lyrics are beyond dumb, but when the rest of the set is so consistent, we can’t hold it against them.
There’s no denying, then, that tonight is a triumph. It’s a set that’s fresh despite being similar to their Irish previous, performed in a way that suggests Grouplove are loving every second of growing indie fame, and not feeling in the least bit world weary. The might need another song of the calibre of ‘Colours’ to keep the momentum going, but this is a band with a live show that continues to do it a huge amount of favours.
Grouplove Photo Gallery
Photos: Alessio Michelini
