INTERVIEW: Grouplove Reveals Song Meanings on 'Big Mess' | Track By Track

Sometimes, life is a big mess, and no one understands that better than American Indie Rock band Grouplove. It's because of this that the group, comprised of Christian Zucconi (vocals/guitars), Hannah Hooper (vocals/keyboards), Andrew Wessen (guitars/vocals), Ryan Rabin (drums), and Daniel Gleason (bass) named their newly-released album Big Mess. 

Big Mess is Grouplove's third studio album, and the follow-up to their 2013 record Spreading Rumours, which included their top 2 US Billboard Alternative Songs chart single "Ways To Go." The new album features 11 new songs, including their lead single "Welcome To Your Life." Grouplove recently stopped by iHeartRadio HQ in New York City where they told us about their new album and the meaning behind each song during an exclusive interview. 

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On what fans can expect from Big Mess

The band tells us that they took more creative risks on Big Mess, and that from their last album to this new one they're "better, tighter, and closer." They say, "We're all stronger musicians from it than we were after the first and second albums."

One of the best aspects of being a musician is getting to share your story, and your life with fans through song. And while Grouplove may have their own idea of what their songs mean, they love when their fans interpret the music in their own way.

"Even though we just kind of give explanations for our songs, the moment we start performing them and we start sharing with other people, the uh, they, they kind of change for us as well and they grow and they morph. And as they you know, affect people's lives, the meanings, you know, they don't just stick. So we might have said that they became the catalysts from one place but they will evolve as well. So don't worry guys. Keep your own meaning for them, and we love that."

Check out our interview with Grouplove where they break down the meaning of their song lyrics on Big Mess below:

Track 1: "Welcome To Your Life"

"That is a song about this world being messed up, and dark, and a difficult place, but that it can be beautiful, and it can be your fantasy. So, let's make it that way."

Track 2: "Do You Love Someone"

"Do you? Love someone?"

Track 3: "Standing In The Sun"

"That is about wilding out, having a crazy night where you're hanging from the ceiling, and you feel like absolute sh*t the next day, and you go and stand in the sun. It's kind of about just letting go, and going to that place that maybe you thought that you went to when you were 16, and you thought you still could, and learning that lesson, emotionally and physically. And realizing maybe you don't like being around anyone."

Track 4: "Enlighten Me"

"That's about trying to live in the present tense and try to appreciate as much as you can, because it's easy to kinda live in a space that's neither here nor there, and to kind of appreciate what you have."

Track 5: "Good Morning"

"Why do you gotta say good morning? Why does the party need to end? Why do you need to wake up? It's kind of a song about self-discovery and about being yourself, and about not going to bed."

Track 6: "Spinning"

"It's kinda like a push and pull dialogue. It's a song about overcoming struggle."

Track 7: "Cannonball"

"It's about stepping up. Life has moments where you can step up, and it's sort of like be a cannonball. Just, make your mark. Do what you gotta do and to not just burn out. Not just stay on your phone all day, except you're probably on the phone watching/reading this, so ... sorry."

Track 8: "Traumatized"

"That's about respecting people who have come before you in the past, and your parents, and to appreciate all that people do [and] sacrifice. At least personally for me, what my parents sacrificed for me to be able to be a dreamer and be able to make art my life, they gave up a lot to do that. We have a baby now too, so it's that whole circle, that we're there."

Track 9: "Heart Of Mine"

"It's about making a decision. And falling in love and finding your soul-mate."

Track 10: "Don't Stop Making It Happen"

"That's just about like getting wet on a private jet and just having a good time. Those are the lyrics."

Track 11: "Hollywood"

"That's kind of an old-timey song based on the life of a certain silent-film star. It's also about, in a city like Los Angeles where there's a lot of acting and a lot of bullsh*t, and a lot of plastic surgery, it's about a band like ours finding a truth, and keeping it real and just speaking from our hearts. We're not, we're not phony baloney macaroni."