Irish guitar music and disco-pop are two soundscapes that juxtapose one another, yet Two Door Cinema Club melded their Irish roots with an electrified sound that enamored the indie realm. With festival season quickly emerging, Two Door Cinema Club will be taking the stage at the Santa Barbara Bowl with Grouplove on Friday, April 14.

The riveting synths and squealing guitars born from the trio’s latest project, Gameshow, takes listeners on a journey into a ‘70s disco time capsule. The album follows an infatuated journey of ‘70s music culture, hence the penchant for the enhanced synthesizers. The band’s legendary idols, Prince and Bowie, undoubtedly inspired the band to pay homage to the past generations of music that solidified their grandeur with enticing dancefloor anthems. Their past album, Tourist History, which was all too familiarized with the optimal time of being an edgy Tumblr teen, illuminated catchy pop sounds. This 2010 album made TDCC’s hit “Undercover Martyn” an inescapable track that was instantly sewn into our membranes. While “Beacon” and “Tourist History” immersed themselves into composing pop earworms, Gameshow pulls the same traction with a revisit to the golden era of hypnotic funk. Gameshow encompasses lyrics fueled by guarded emotions within the spectrum of compelling instrumental elements. The departure from their recognizable hook-heavy sound brought forth a confusion in many of TDCC’s listeners, who were interested in the comfort of the clash of rock and pop found on the debut album. Despite TDCC experimenting with far more surging synth in their latest project, the band has displayed their creative ambition to constantly seek out new ways to keep their music eclectically invigorating rather than conforming to making mediocre, radio-friendly songs.

Courtesy of NPR

Two Door Cinema Club’s tourmates, Grouplove, are also masters of weaving their massive hits into the inner workings of our consciousness. Both bands have accomplished the ability to create catchy hooks with waves of sunshine. Two Door Cinema Club balances their contrasting forms of atmospheric and pop sounds; meanwhile, Grouplove is well-known for their hyperactive dream-pop that meanders its way into movie scenes to heighten a main character’s adventurous epiphany. Grouplove are no strangers to Santa Barbara, as they recently performed last year at UCSB’s Warm Up concert, which was synchronized with iconic hits and bold performances. Grouplove’s 2016 album titled Big Mess, proves to be the paradox to their popularized past discography, as the band has morphed into implementing more ‘90s rock instrumentation. The energetic atmosphere that Grouplove put out into their performances have the crowd radiating with anticipation to further hear the band’s musical catalog. In order to capture the audience’s attention, the members of Grouplove sporadically jump along and joyously clap to their own cheery melodies. When looking for a high calorie burn, just put yourself in the middle of Grouplove’s carefree dance pit.

A room-filling level of applause and drunken singing is expected to swell the SB Bowl with an imminent energy that will wake up the surrounding neighborhood. Two Door Cinema Club’s performances have been known to be rather psychedelic and provoke memories of the gateway indie band era when many young listeners were barely getting enveloped into the universe of alternative music. With visual backdrops to match their effervescent sound, Two Door Cinema Club and Grouplove are known to quickly enthrall an audience of thousands and have them swaying along in unison. If you are having an alt-music mid-life crisis and want to relive the era of gateway indie bands, join Grouplove and Two Door Cinema Club at the SB Bowl before they hit Coachella.

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