Discovering Trust

LA-based Grouplove's 2011 debut Never Trust A Happy Song was an exercise with results that simply could not have been predicted by the five friends, with singles Colours, Tongue Tied and Itchin' On A Photograph all going nuts and helping the band forge a path onto the international touring circuit. And they haven't stopped. In fact, no time was taken between finishing touring plans for their debut and actually leaping right into the studio to record their anticipated follow-up Spreading Rumours. Singer Christian Zucconi says he insisted on the quick turnaround as to not lose the band's momentum. “We became such a strong live act with all the touring for so long, we didn't want to leave that fire that we'd built up over the last couple of years touring,” he explains. “So we got off the road, took a week off around Christmas and then moved into this house – the studio – in the Hollywood Hills and began setting up and just went for it. We wanted to capture that energy from our shows, record everything live which was pretty great – it's the best way to capture it.”

The spontaneous vibe Zucconi describes is certainly present across the album's 13 songs. From the wacked-out, Nirvana-esque pop of Borderlines And Aliens to the infectious first single Ways To Go, the band's dynamic has shifted a lot since they came together to record their first full-length. “Before the first record, we had played like ten shows as a band and did everything piece by piece. We weren't that familiar with each other yet because things moved so fast in the beginning when we met. This record is different – we trusted each other and knew where each of us was coming from musically, and we were just so much closer as friends and musicians that it's much more collaborative. You can hear the difference, I think, for sure.”

The spontaneity continued while the five-piece toured, with the band penning most of Spreading Rumours on the road. “We wrote [it over] like two years and then maybe 30 or 40 per cent of the record was written in the studio. Some of the songs just came, as they do, when we were just hanging out at the house. Like Sit Still – me and Hannah [Hooper – vocals/keys] wrote that at the house just hanging out and Ways To Go was me, Ryan [Rabin – drums] and Hannah, we came up with that one night at the studio; it just came when Ryan started playing a riff. It was like, here's a song that didn't exist five minutes ago and now has a place in the world. A lot of it was also written on the road, not really performed as a band though – we'd be familiar with the song and play it at soundcheck but never played them in front of an audience. A song like Raspberry, we actually wrote that in Australia last time we were there. School Boy was written in Sydney right by the Opera House where we were filming some TV show there, and it was two riffs like they already existed and knew the scope of the song. When we got into the studio, we'd just rehearse them with the band for like an hour or two and it'd be real spontaneous and it'd be like, 'Yo we got it now let's put it down to tape'. It was really fun and on the fly.”

The focus for the band is on maintaining the wacked-out party aesthetic already created. But there was no such mission statement going into the studio; Spreading Rumours truly runs the gamut and somehow all falls together. “We recorded like 24 songs, but when we were choosing which ones to go on the record, we went with the strong, up-kind of songs because that's the stuff we want to play live for the next three to four years. We had a lot of beautiful, slow stuff but we want to keep the bangers going and bring that energy that we're known for right now. We don't want to divert too far from that bombastic energy.”

Already on tour in the States, all roads will eventually lead to Australia, a country that has welcomed Grouplove with open arms since the beginning. “We're so excited to be playing Big Day Out, can't believe it,” Zucconi exclaims. “We're excited to be coming back to Australia, there's lots of cool bands on that bill. You guys have been there since the beginning, our EP came out over there first before it did [in America] – there's definitely a soft spot for you guys, we're lucky to have you in our corner.”