Kingston isn’t the kind of place you’d imagine a band NME are hailing as the next big thing would choose to play their first ever UK show, writes Oliver Pelling.

However, LA quintet Grouplove did just that when they played a flawless set to a humble crowd at The Fighting Cocks on a cold early February evening. I’d heard of Grouplove only three weeks prior to meeting them.

The group’s debut EP – their first ever recording as a band - is a masterclass in everything unpretentious, 90’s inspired, upbeat indie-pop should be.

Their music and their live show is so polished, so effortless, that it’s hard to believe they’ve been playing shows together for less than a year. So why on earth would they choose Kingston to kick off their tour of Europe?

“I thought we were going to Jamaica to be honest,” said vocalist Hannah Hooper jokingly.

“Seriously though, we’re playing some really big shows on this tour – like the Shepherds Bush Empire – and we wanted to start out somewhere small, somewhere we’d be familiar with. We wanted to meet some people too.

"We checked out a couple of different places but looking at the photos of The Fighting Cocks and its interior, it just looked like it had a good vibe. After tonight we’re definitely Kingston fans.”

Christian Zucconi, lead singer and guitarist in the band added: “Tonight was more like a normal show that we’re used to, it was more personal and we love that.”

Christian and Hannah form the heart of Grouplove. The pair met in New York at one of Christian’s early solo shows and have been inseparable ever since.

When Hannah got invited to Greece on an art residency, her long-haired lover jumped at the chance to go with her.

While they were romancing away the hours in Crete, they met the rest of the band.

“We just kinda felt a spark when we were out there,” said Christian.

London-born bassist Sean Gadd, who pulls off the cowboy hat and beard combo better than almost anyone I’ve ever seen, described it as “the summer of love."

“We were all just hanging out basically. We all liked each other and we loved each other’s songs and liked each other musically, we just clicked,” he said.

Soon enough, it was time for the future members of Grouplove to return to their respective homes.

“We had a year and a half apart before we saw each other again,” said Christian.

“Then Sean came and visited us in New York and we went down to California to see the others, and that’s when we decided to record the EP, just for fun, it wasn’t a serious thing.”

“We were just a bunch of friends having fun” added Hannah.

“The music we recorded managed to get into the right hands; our current managers heard it and were like ‘This band needs to happen!’”

Suffice to say the managers, brothers Ben and Nicky Berger, made the right choice to take the band on.

The group’s passion for each other and for making music together is infectious. As I sat opposite them and tried to take it all in, I found myself wanting to go on this adventure with them.

All you have to do is listen to their music and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Before this year is up, I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone will want to be a part of the magic that is Grouplove.

“We’re influenced by the energy of being around each other more than any particular type of music," said Hannah.

"I think we come off as being natural because we all genuinely want to be playing music together.

“I’m so glad that Greece didn’t leave us and we left Greece. The romance hasn’t died.”

NME ranked Grouplove as the no. 1 buzz band (emerging artist) in the UK a few weeks ago.

Considering that their debut EP is their first ever recording as a group, and that some members of the group had never been in a band before, it’s safe to say things are going pretty well for the guys.

“It’s not something you can really wrap your head around,” said the ever-humble Christian.

“When you’ve just put out an EP, and it’s your first ever recording, going into something like that is so incredible,” added Hannah.

So what does 2011 have in store for this band of giddy hipsters?

“We’ve got a tour with a band called Foster the People in the US, which takes us up to April,” said Christian.

“We’re also playing South by Southwest (SXSW), which is a big music festival back home, where we’ll be playing tonnes of shows in four days.”

“We just finished recording our album,” said Hannah.

"Which was equally as fun as the EP. I think its set to come out in the UK sometime in the summer.”

Grouplove are destined for great things. One listen of their debut single ‘Colors’ will confirm that for anyone. With all the success the band is set to achieve, can little old Kingston expect a return visit?

“We want to come back here. We want to come back to Kingston. We love England because England has been loving us.”

Grouplove’s debut EP was out yesterday in the UK.