Grouplove – Live at The Corner: Gig Reviews

On our way into The Corner for American indie kids Grouplove, we should have walked straight in to watch the support act, but the attraction of Melbourne’s first warm night in months combined the allure of a rooftop beer garden proved to be too strong.

Making it down the stairs just in time to see the curtains draw apart and, in what can only be regarded as not too rock-n-roll, the band took to the stage right on time.

Grouplove

The crowd was a respectable size for an international act coming off a successful Splendour In the Grass set, but there was still considerable room to perform an uninterrupted hand-to-mouth drinking action, indicating to me that they might still have some way to go before becoming Australian favourites.

Grouplove looked like they hadn’t yet come down from the high of their experience at Splendour, and seemed to be people happiest people in the room. This enthusiasm immediately infected the crowd as the band launched into their energetic opener, Don’t Say Oh Well, complete with hand claps and a catchy hook to sing along to. They were tight, both in terms of playing and their camaraderie; the cheesy line ‘I told my band mates they are my soul mates’ almost perfectly summing up the warmth you could feel emanating from the stage.

Ticking off all the favourites from their EP, Grouplove also played a few numbers off their upcoming album Never Trust A Happy Song, including Lovely Cup, Itchin’ On A Photograph and Love Will Save Your Soul. Their musical style swung between indie, country, and pop, and was at times a little too sweet for my tastes. However, with a name like Grouplove and the following they seem to have built with this positive and upbeat vibe, I feel that I might be in the minority on this one. Perhaps it is this very quality that differentiates them in the crowded indie scene.

Continuing with Gold Coast (not the summery song its title suggests and possibly one of their slowest and mellowest), which was followed by Naked Kids, introduced by more hand claps. Hooray for handclaps!

Colours finished the night on a high note which got the crowd jumping and shouting. If there were any doubts in my mind (or those of the audience) that this band was going to be big in Australia, this song played live would have erased any trace.

The short but sweet ‘festival sized’ set surprised some, but left me happy that it wasn’t extended for the sake of filling the hour at the expense of a highly impressive set. I happily took my keepsake ticket on the way out, knowing I would be seeing this band again very soon.