Michelle Shiers on January 13th, 2015

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Forty-six seconds into the Girlpool documentary “Things Are OK,” directed by Cory McConnell, bassist Harmony Tividad lets out a piercing shriek as they perform their song “Jane” in front of an intimate audience. The yearling L.A. duo consisting of Cleo Tucker along with Tividad boast unapologetic confrontation amidst raw harmonies.

From “Things Are OK” we are given a taste of the emotional friendship of Tucker and Tividad where they express themselves through sophomoric lyrics and in-your-face simplicity. Overall, the 25-minute documentary is made from footage of live shows, the open road, behind-the-scenes snippets, lava lamps, rain, a solitary microphone and requisite twinkling lights. But what really shines in this short film is listening to Tucker and Tividad describe the overwhelming experience of being in a band as a “sensory overload.”

Girlpool struggle to believe that they are expressing themselves correctly when their music is interpreted in, at times, heartbreakingly different ways to what they intended. Tividad notes, “When people, like, get it, it’s really special.” Girlpool formed after Tividad and Tucker met at a DIY venue and that ethic carried on as they tried to make obsolete-but-painfully-trendy cassette tapes to sell at their shows.

A year later, their debut EP was released on Wichita Records and now they are garnering buzz for their girl-power-inducing candor. In “Things Are Okay,” Tividad says “It’s cool to kind of analyze yourself with another person as a mirror. I think that’s essentially what Girlpool is.”

With lyrics as straightforward as “My mind is almost 19 and I still feel angry,” and “You’re too busy watching other girls in their little skirts and their pretty curls,” Girlpool are sharing completely honest and lovably callow lo-fi-ness. They are very stripped back but their chemistry and friendship, described as”‘turbulent” in the documentary, is the driving force behind their total no-frills honesty.

||| Live: Girlpool perform April 28 at The Roxy.

Photo by Alice Baxley