Los Angeles duo Girlpool have been making sweet, sweet indie rock together since 2013 but made a substantial splash in 2015 with the release of their debut album Before the World Was Big. Singing songs about love, wonder, fear and sadness, Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad weave together seemingly simple but definitely intricate layers of harmonizing melodies with little more than their voices, bass and guitar.
Their newer works (2017's Powerplant, and this year's What Chaos Is Imaginary) have added a few extra players to the mix, and although they shimmer with tinges of poppier production, they are no less sincere and still carry the weight of their DIY roots.
I asked Harmony a couple of questions about Girlpool and what the One Colorado audiences can look forward to this Saturday night.
KCRW: When it comes to indie/DIY bands, publications and distributors and reps tend to use other bands as points of reference as a means of introduction. Your sound is wonderfully unique in that the references that come to mind are a wild spectrum of things, but the result is not like any of those things specifically. How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard of you?
Harmony: kinda lush and wide, also sometimes jangley... the sound is so constantly changing it’s hard to fully say a point where it always is landing.
KCRW: From the beginning, it's always been the two of you (with an additional player here and there) but as evidenced in your spectacular NPR Tiny Desk performance, the two of you don't actually need any kind of accompaniment. What is your preferred performance set-up and what can people expect at KCRW Summer Nights @ One Colorado?
Harmony: We love to play any way — playing together is beautiful and playing with the band is also amazing. This Saturday we are playing as a 4 piece (w/ my dad playing bass on a few songs)
KCRW: A number of years back you moved from LA to (my hometown) Philadelphia in an effort to join a different creative community. What drew you to Philadelphia of all places?
Harmony: There’s an amazing music community there and a lot of creative people doing incredible things... the cost of living isn’t super high and we were both very interested in exploring the world and trying something new after growing up in la.
KCRW: (I’m asking this one of all contributors all summer) - What's an album that saved your life?
Harmony: either/or by Elliott Smith