Girlpool at Village Underground, London, review: LA band's best is yet to come

When LA duo Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad first emerged as Girlpool three years ago, they had all the hallmarks of breakout DIY success.

Two best friends seemingly oblivious to the outside world singing about boys, teen angst and having oral sex while watching American Beauty, Girlpool’s scratchy, lo-fi, indie-pop harmonies sounded like what you’d get if the protagonists of a cult teen movie were locked in their bedroom with nothing but a guitar, bass and a Violent Femmes CD.

Older and wiser, the pair has attempted to evolve on this year’s second album Powerplant: no longer just a two-piece, Girlpool have fleshed out with the addition of drummer Miles Wintner and, tonight, extra guitar, keyboards and saxophone. It takes just 50 seconds of tonight’s show for this to become apparent. Opener “123” begins as a typically genteel serenade before a thumping, overbearing drum kicks in: welcome to Girlpool MK II.

At what cost the shift to a fuller sound? At heart, Girlpool are a bedroom hobby that got out of hand: the way the pair lark about between songs, asking the crowd to guess the band’s star signs and rapping Dizzee Rascal, they could be messing about at home. Bigger than they ever dared think, they are now a band in transition.

When they sing debut album title track “Before the World Was Big”, their interwoven melodies still amaze, but the song feels over-embellished with the additions of drums, like adding pineapple to pizza (you could do, but whether you should do is a different matter). It is telling that many of tonight’s best moments come when Tucker and Tividad are left alone: the quiet intensity of “Ideal World” sees them at their telepathic best.

Tracks from Powerplant are a mixed affair. There are still sharp observations (“I faked global warming just to get close to you”) and songs when the new parts fall into place: the jangly “Corner Store” breaks down into hugely impressive screech of noise; “It Gets More Blue” is a scuzzy power-pop gem in the vein of Weezer. But too much of Powerplant short circuits: “She Goes By” and “Sleepless” are lo-fi grunge by numbers.

“You have lots of potential, can you feel it?” the pair sings to each other on “Soup”. It’s done with a knowing wink, but it happens to be true: Girlpool’s best is yet to come.