In our last interview with Hannah of Grouplove, she briefly spoke about the new album as being one that the band was asking a lot of deep questions on. They’ve been together constantly for the past couple years, getting to know each other as friends and bandmates, and they are still working toward finding their stride. Today, their much talked about new album Spreading Rumours is officially out, and for the most part, the sound echoes that sentiment.

The intro of “I’m With You” begins like the opening of a dream sequence, or like a plane flying over a vast ocean at the start of a blue planet documentary. Then a beat kicks in and it gets more frantic, knowingly building up to some major movement. When Christian Zucconi’s vocals comes in and he sings “I’m with you / this is all I do now,” it’s immediately a commentary on how immersed the band has been with what they’re doing together. Good thing they have all these synthesizers to let all the crazy out on. They then sound even more wild on follow up “Borderlines And Aliens,” with a brusque guitar riff, and a hilarious line of “Arigato…GATO!”

Throughout the 50-minute album, Grouplove tends to sound a little schizo. They want to rock out, but they are still trying to figure out how they want to do that. The production is super polished thanks to the work of drummer Ryan Rabin, but the fact that they sound so clean also takes some getting used to. The vocal dance between Christian and Hannah Hooper help keep many of the nicely packaged beats more interesting with fresher inflections and emotive growls, but much of the organic and natural sounding quirkiness and fun from their earlier, more lo-fi recordings has evolved into something more robotic, with a reoccurring formula of the songs having a nice and sweet portion that suddenly goes into turbo overdrive.

The best tracks come in the second half of the album, like “Hippy Hill” which feels like a moment of clarity, and “Raspberry” that is impossible to not compare to The Pixies. Grouplove does this sound so well, it’s a wonder they don’t explore this side of themselves further, or at least more bass lines like that. In the end though, all the questioning and exploring is necessary, since the whole point is to discover for themselves what the next right move is. In “What I Know,” they go from asking “Is this for real or is it whack?” to ultimately deciding not to care because they march in their own parade. The oscillations are merely a reflection of the natural struggles the band is dealt, and even the strange, clunky parts are still ones they have fun with. Are they doing the right thing? Is any of this the right direction? Good question, but the fact that they accept these challenges in stride, with a playfulness and a wildly danceable chorus, is what is most relatable about Grouplove. The fact that half the dates on their tour are already sold out confirms that.