Girlpool Talks Music, Friendship & Growing Up
Girlpool is Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad; best friends barely out of their teens yet incredibly accomplished with an immeasurable sense of wisdom.
Their debut full-length, Before The World Was Big, captured the tenderness of fleeting adolescence and the importance of finding your voice at any age. Months have passed since their record release, and a relentless tour schedule has come to a close. Cleo and Harmony have returned to their new home in Brooklyn, a little bit older, and infinitely insightful.
The duo are already onto the next phase of taking the world by storm. First up: conquering Coachella. Next up: new music.
Galore: How important have all-ages DIY spaces like Silent Barn been to the livelihood of Girlpool?
Cleo: They’ve been incredibly important to both of us. We met at a DIY place in Los Angeles called The Smell and we both grew up really valuing spaces like that, ones that allowed us to feel safe and creatively inspired.
It seems like you guys have pulled together an awesome gang of musician friends that way. Tell me more about some of those relationships. I know you just went on tour with Frankie Cosmos…
Harmony: It’s been amazing getting to tour and it’s been really inspiring getting to tour with so many different artists. Seeing how they perceive certain experiences… Just discussing and exploring with people through tour is just so inspiring and empowering.
What about some other artists, maybe outside of your circle, that are inspiring you?
Cleo: We both really love the new Horse Jumper of Love album.
Harmony: Our friend Jillian’s band IAN has a record coming out. She’s just the best person in the world.
Cleo: I’ve been listening to the new Fraternal Twin album a lot recently.
Now that things are settling down after the whirlwind last few years, is there any sort of feeling like, what’s next?
Cleo: We’re working on music and thinking, writing, playing, and exploring constantly. The context feels different because it’s a new kind of routine, especially after moving. It always feels like a new fold.
Harmony: We’re working on new stuff, but it’s all natural.
Harmony, it looks like you have been doing some solo stuff lately?
Harmony: We both have been doing solo music for our entire lives, since we’ve been playing music. We both really love to play shows, but now there’s this weird thing where we can’t just play all the time.
Would it feel strange to play without your other musical half onstage?
Harmony: Cleo actually drums in the band!
So you guys really can’t get enough of each other! Tell me more about your best friendship. What’s the key to maintaining such an intimate and creative relationship?
Harmony: Communicating about everything. Any passing feeling or moment is super important to honor. Regardless of circumstance, it’s important to take it on.
Cleo: Honesty.
So what will Girlpool 2.0 sound like?
Cleo: We’ve been exploring the concept of juxtaposition; comparing and contrasting both as friends and the way that we write. It’s really exciting because it’s fresh and new. We’ve always talked about it, but it hasn’t been explored to this degree.
Your music has a beautiful way of connecting deeply with people. What has been some of the best feedback you’ve received from fans?
Cleo: I love how powerful it is to communicate with people in a space where we’re playing, the overall connection and ability to be in a room with people who want to share.
Harmony: It’s hard to pinpoint because it’s so in the moment, but when it feels real it just is. It doesn’t register as words, but registers as feeling.
Do you feel grown up?
Harmony: It’s always happening…
Cleo: There’s always a new “I’m there!” A new arrival. But I think youthfulness is core, it’s always there.
Harmony: It’s important to wonder and feel like there’s something to discover. You think you’ve arrived but that moment moves too.
What’s out of your comfort zone?
Cleo: Being alive is out of my comfort zone. I have an interesting relationship with comfort zones. Right now I’m exploring outside of it and feeling okay with everything and allowing everything. Aimlessness or having a lot of time also makes me anxious and uncomfortable. It’s just when I feel like I’m not being intentional.
What advice or words of wisdom can you share with those who have the desire to create but are nervous to put themselves out there?
Harmony: Your voice is your own and it’s powerful. It’s so much more to do with confidence than anything. Sharing is hard for anyone, to put yourself out there is hard for a lot people. Knowing that your voice, regardless of whether anyone likes it or not, has validity in the fact that you thought it. And that’s enough.
Cleo: Allowing your bigness takes practice. It feels good to feel all of it. It feels good to practice.
