Girlpool is Harmony Tividad and Cleo Tucker, two friends who can charm a listener in two minutes using just a guitar, bass and vocal harmonies. The duo cut their teeth at L.A. all-ages DIY space the Smell and then moved to Philadelphia to record their debut LP. Before The World Was Big is a collection of lo-fi pop ditties about childhood, adulthood and the in-between – an awkward, anxious stage the teenagers are still navigating.
Throughout the album, Girlpool’s songwriting formula is consistent: guitars swell and swirl around plucky bass lines, the backbone of each song, as Tividad and Tucker emulate sunny schoolyard taunts and sing-shouty shrieks while telling vulnerable stories. The straightforwardness of their songs recalls great indie pop bands of yesteryear like Beat Happening, but also causes some of their songs to blur together. Bonus points for the band name, a reference to a chapter in Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle.
Top track: Ideal World
