love story

If you swing by the NYLON offices at any given time, there's a good chance that we'll be blasting GROUPLOVE. We featured this eclectic quintet in our February '10 issue, we recruited them for our SXSW party this year, and we've danced like crazy people at their live shows. Needless to say, we're kind of GROUPLOVE groupies. The band's debut full-length, Never Trust a Happy Song, will finally drop on September 13. But until then, we're excited to unveil the album's cover art (below), designed by the group's singer Hannah Hooper. We chatted with Hannah about her artwork, GROUPLOVE's top 3 most awesome moments, and Jay-Z.

If you had to describe your artwork in one sentence, you'd say...

Split splat splatter stepback mix a new color switch brushes splatter splash.

You've designed all the other Grouplove covers and imaging. Do you create the art ahead of time and then use it for the albums, or is it the other way around?

I don't really have a process for the Grouplove art. Sometimes I'll be starting a poster for an upcoming show and one of the guys will remember a drawing I did on tour and say "use that"- But I approached our EP and album cover similarly-stretching a five by five foot canvas, roughly the dimensions of an enormous CD and smoked a lil weed and just listened to our CD on repeat until I saw more than sound- if that makes sense. I don't even really understand exactly where my work comes from. I just know when it's honest.

Grouplove has had some pretty awesome experiences so far- if you had to pick your top 3, what would you say?

1- The randomness of our first ever meeting on the island of Crete and forming Grouplove will forever be the craziest.

2- When we sold out our first headlining show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles

3- Walking around Glastonbury in a five person t-shirt covered in mud together

What's your favorite or most meaningful song off the new album?

I could answer this in so many different ways. My favorite or the most meaningful song to me is pretty circumstantial as I have had many favorites since we finished the album but right now I am five weeks deep on tour in the EU and "Itchin On a Photograph" is the song right now that hits home.

Do you guys have a pre and post-show routine? What is it?

We do some stretching and jumpingjacks together to wake up our limbs, pound a glass of white wine, sing "Don't say oh well" and finish with a group hug.

What's one thing you haven't done yet with the band that you guys are all dying to do?

There are a lot of things we are looking forward to doing but the boys are all asleep so I'm taking full responsibility on this answer- I would like us to collaborate with Jay Z on a track. Just saying.

Watch the video for "Itchin' on a Photograph" below and click here to see Hannah's other work!