Spotlight: Groupthink is “Making It Big” in the Collective Consciousness

Q&AMusic

Jul 6

☆ BY KRISTINE VILLARROEL ☆

A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE SOUND OF MUSIC — Groupthink is piquing the interest of those listening. The term that is the Chicago-based artist’s namesake was coined by psychologist Irving Janis in 1971, describing a sociological collapse of personal determination under the pressure of collective conformity. But for the artist Groupthink, it means something bigger than himself: such as people that look like their dogs, or looking at someone looking at a painting while dressed like the pictured subject, or seeing the crowd of Doc Martens at any art school kids’ party. Groupthink is about the unspoken homogeneity on everyone’s mind.

On June 24, Groupthink released his newest EP, Guilty Pleasure. The eight-minute record features the previously released songs “Guilty Pleasure” and “Me and Your Boyfriend,” as well as the new “Sex Is A Sport.”

“I always wanted to be a cool artist that people would name-drop to seem cool,” Groupthink said. “Like some kind of cultural signifier.”

But he doesn’t take it that seriously. Groupthink doesn’t actually think he’s that cool — it’s all part of a performance in which he pokes fun at the effort people put into portraying effortlessness, while also inevitably engaging it in. It’s less of a social critique and more of a simple observation about modern society.

Guilty Pleasure lays down the sonic thesis statement of this slightly satirical yet self-reflective project. It’s the type of influence-rich expression that could only be present in a society where the internet not only exists but defines culture.

Sonically, there’s influence from both the past and what can be imagined to be the future. It’s nostalgic in a forwards-looking way, not caught up in recreating sounds of past decades but instead reimagining our abstract predictions of what music sounds like in the 2020s. It contains some of the complex simplicity and post-tech chaos of Glitchcore, the repetitiveness and catchiness of 2010s electronic indie pop, the urgency and adrenaline of early 2000s pop-punk, and the grit and texture of ’90s grunge.

In terms of aesthetics and concepts, the vision is concise and clear — it’s just a matter of getting it or not. The music videos that go along with the songs feature visuals and concepts that perfectly compliment each track, and so does Groupthink’s social media with all its inside jokes and references that call to a specific group of people. This makes sense, since all these aspects of the project are formed by the same creative mind.

For Groupthink, making music is both a groupthink and a guilty pleasure, as contradictory as it sounds. Everyone wants to do it, he explained, but it’s still one of those things that’s somehow embarrassing to love that much.

He might get a more beneficial outcome from, say, promoting his releases on TikTok, but creating is what really inspires him. Groupthink might have other songs done and waiting to be released — and he does — but he keeps going back to the studio and creating more. He just likes making music, so he makes it.

“If you really enjoy it and it’s your guilty pleasure then it all becomes really simple,” he said.

This same mindset drove him to embrace music even when that meant walking away from a more established career.

Groupthink’s musical journey started only about five years ago, when he bought a keyboard at a thrift store and enrolled in music classes at school. Being entirely self-taught yet conceptually ambitious, presenting his music to his classes felt intimidating.

“I would just be really embarrassed,” he said. “I think I cried a couple of times because I would just be playing in front of everyone and I was, like, so bad.”

In terms of money, there wasn’t much. By the time he started working on the songs on the EP, Groupthink did not have money to pursue a musical project. A string of marketing and production-focused jobs followed. Working in the publicity industry taught him valuable lessons about what it means to promote a product.

“No one wants to fall in love with a new artist — you have to get their attention,” he explained. “Go big… Just make the world stop and fall in love with you for one day, and that's all it really takes.”

Now, Groupthink is promoting himself. He wants to make it big, and so far it looks like a steady uphill incline.

With his careful mix of internet humor and genuine, intentional work, Groupthink is grabbing our attention. He is the new anti-pop, a term used by a Spotify editorial playlist with over half a million followers, which features experimentally inclined alternative pop and that currently has Groupthink on its cover.

This fall, he will join KennyHoopla on tour across the US, visiting a total of 28 cities all across the country. The live stage will soon be Groupthink’s latest creative medium, and he will continue to create.

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We couldn’t be more stoked to have Suriel Hess as our new headliner for our upcoming LA show 🤩 🫶 Not gonna lie, us & Notorious Noise kinda went OFF with this line up & you’re not gonna wanna miss it - ticket link in bio 🎫