Givers: "Meantime" and "Up Up Up"

For youthful exuberance, look no further than Givers. The 20-something indie rockers from Lafayette, Louisiana, churn out poppy, happy beats on their debut LP In Light, which was released in June 2011 on Glassnote. They've played Chicago before (Schuba's), as well as SXSW and Coachella, but this will be their Lolla debut.

Fronting duo Tiffany Lamson and Taylor Guarisco are fun to watch, as Guarisco bounces around like a mad hatter with a guitar and Lamson keeps busy behind a stand-up drum set. Kirby Campbell (drums), Josh LeBlanc (bass), and Nick Stephan (keyboards) round out the quintet, but the parenthetical categorizations aren't much use as each band member plays a host of instruments, giving their sound access to flute, sax, trumpet, and ukulele, among others.

The five members of Givers

The multi-talented musicians came together after Lamson and Guarisco met at the University of New Orleans, where they both studied music. A slap-dash gig one night turned into a two-hour improv session, and the light bulb illuminated over their efforts and led the way to a shot at opening for the band Dirty Projectors. They all dropped out of college to prepare and work on Givers full time, and while I'd never encourage a young musician to forgo his or her education, it seems to have worked out so far for these young, hard-working dynamos.

In the video above, which was filmed in New York last October, I settled in to enjoy yet another boy-girl vocal harmony, but they get through just one verse before throwing a curveball and changing up the tempo at :45. I DIG IT! I can't figure out why Guarisco's eyes roll to the back of his head whenever he opens his mouth really wide, and I also can't understand most of the words he says, but his enthusiasm is infectious. Lamson is a total doll, and the moments her voice shines through solo are practically perfect. Here's another video from the same recording session that includes a short interview with Lamson and Guarisco:

Also, you know you've made it when Glee covers your song:

Givers will infect you with their happy rock on the Google Play stage at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, August 4.