Grouplove

Indie rock has reached roughly the same place as sludgy post-punk after Dinosaur Jr.'s Without A Sound, in that it now needs to ask itself: can innovation on a theme can still be worth listening to? Bands these days run into that issue their very first time to the plate, so they best come out swinging. With their self-titled EP, Grouplove are aiming for the fences. When the whole music-making world is moving towards recycled electro and that damned wubble dubstep kids like so much, it's entertaining to see a band taking very few risks produce something fairly entertaining. EP opener, video single and standout track "Colours" leans heavily on solid vocals from frontman Christian Zucconi, after which the EP settles into some safer pop fare. "Don't Say Oh Well" displays infectious enthusiasm, while "Gold Coast" takes a good, hard look at the "El Scorcho" template and decides it falls just short of the band's goals, forcing a step forward. The entire EP is a series of these, utilizing what's stuck to the wall over the years and improving upon it. This is a solid warm-up.