Don’t Worry Baby- Grouplove covers the Beach Boys

Coverlove, striking again. I just recently attended a hideously kick-ass Grouplove show in Columbia, marking my third time seeing them since 2011. Quick disclaimer: I will always have some bias weaved into any reviews of their work. That being said, other than a couple of minor pitfalls on their recently released sophomore album Spreading Rumours, Grouplove usually does a fantastic job of producing skillfully crafted ear-candy for all demographics (ergo, not much bias needed. They fucking rule).

But anyways! I’m straying! The last two Grouplove shows I attended had setlists jam-packed with mostly originals, but with a few covers interwoven into the mix. They conquered Yonce’s “Drunk in Love” and devoured “Baba O’ Riley,” (with the help of opener Portugal. The Man) as their strategically-placed closer. My point: they know what they’re doing and they know how to do it, so recently, Grouplove teamed up with Spotify to create a poll on what cover they should record and post to demonstrate their cover skills.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/grouplove-team-with-spotify-for-covers-project-20130919

The conclusive winner of the contest was the 1964 Beach Boys hit, “Don’t Worry Baby,” a catchy, Frankie-Valli-esque composition that was a low key fan-favorite at the time of its release. Grouplove has adopted this song as one would adopt a little puppy. You pick it up, you hold it, it nibbles your finger, you tell it ‘No’. Gradually, as the puppy becomes a dog, it grows accustomed to doing what you ask and eventually takes on the traits of its owner (i.e. Cooper has begun staring blankly at us when we ask him to move, a trademark aspect of my mothers personality). Grouplove has taken “Don’t Worry Baby” and created an entirely different entity, while still preserving the most important aspects of the Beach Boys’ music; falsetto harmonies, a dreamy backtrack, and some rad guitar thrown in just for fun.  Although I hate the incessant repetition of “Don’t worry baby, don’t worry bay-ay-by,” the production and arrangement are both masterfully handled so that the listeners can hold on to the mood of the original but can still enjoy something that resembles a newly-put-forth single. It’s not boring, and it’s very Grouplove.

And DAMN, that electric guitar additive. It’s sick. Hearken. Go. Do it.

Fogged Glass

As I was browsing twitter a couple of hours ago, I heard a synthesizer-enhanced version of Taps looming in the distance. I thought it strange, but continued to browse. As it grew closer, a tweet from Alice Glass appeared in my TL. Taps is blaring. Crystal Castles have officially shattered.

Glass, lead singer of the electro-pop duo, announced her immediate departure from the band, which is composed of her and producer Ethan Kath. Together, Glass and Kath have produced 3 albums, earning themselves praise from elites such as Billboard Hot 100 and NME. Their single, “Not in Love” (featuring The Cure’s leading lad, Robert Smith), earned a spot on worldwide charts.

Ah, “Not in Love”. The anthem of my freshman year in high school. With CC’s sneezed-on-da-beat-sick tunes booming through headphones, I was an invincible force of angst and hormone-induced rage.

“I don’t need him anymore, I’m fine on my own!” I would tell my already fed-up friends about my 8th-9th grade paramour (who, ironically, had introduced me to the song in the first place.) I finally wore it out, and tossed it in the back of my brain archive, which is chocked-full of songs that don’t unearth ’til my craving for nostalgia kicks in. Today, I listen in mourning for the band that opened for supernovas like Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode. Thank you, Crystal Castles, for crushing it with I, II, and III alike.

Ah, alas, my muse has departed from my chambers. I flipped on an old Weird Al CD and he was out in a flash, snorting at the fibers in my carpet as he made his exit.

Anyways.

I’m Carly, I’m a student, I have a dog, he’s French. We make a fabulous pair when it comes to music critique, so here, we shall blog, and blog, we shall here. Have a ball.

Let’s play  “How Many Christian-Slater-circa-Heathers gifs are on my Macbook?” in the form of a drinking game, I’ll go first.

*blacks out*