Widespread Panic
30th April 2024Daily Bread Music Review
1st May 2024Glass Animals took an extended hiatus from recording after drummer Joe Seaward was injured in a cycling accident, to be by his side during this trying time. Now they’re back with an album that far outshines any previous work by an incredible margin.
Dave Bayley from Dreamland spoke to us about its various tracks and the memories tied to each track that still resonate with him today.
Dreamland
Dreamland is an eclectic compilation of narrative songs and instrumental pieces, which together tell Weird American Gothic tales about children, dreams, fatherhood, revenge and redemption. The album opens with “Life Itself,” an instrumental track which tells the tale of a young man with drug dependency who blacks out in grocery store parking lots before living with his parents in their basement.
Oxford English indie rockers Glass Animals return with their second album that continues the momentum set forth by Zaba, with mesmerizing sounds that combine jazzy and eclectic beats, 90’s R&B/soul tones, as well as electric rock synths to produce an immersive listen.
Each song in How To Be a Human Being tells a tale inspired by people Glass Animals met during their Zaba tour – including those featured on its cover! – with 11 tracks representing lives from characters who form our human experience. Additionally, How To Be a Human Being marks the first time Glass Animals has included a horn section on recordings.
How To Be A Human Being
After taking a brief hiatus, Oxford English Indie band Glass Animals returned with their sophomore full-length album How To Be A Human Being. While maintaining much of the mesmerizing journey found on Zaba, this new release innovated and changed substantially; lead singer Dave Bayley took inspiration for it from stories told him while touring – from taxi drivers to people needing venting, these stories had personality and relatability all wrapped into one!
Each song on the album tells a unique tale about one of the eleven people featured on its cover and will leave you feeling uplifted and inspired about life!
Gooey
Gooey is a term used to refer to something sticky, slimy or viscous such as cheese melted on chocolate bars or glue used as glue or slime. Additionally, gooey may refer to someone being careless or reckless with their actions.
Glass Animals have been creating music together for an extended period, and it shows in their work. Their songs flow effortlessly together with jazzy beats reminiscent of 90’s R&B and soul combined with electric rock synths and intriguing lyrics that give their songs life.
Since releasing Zaba, the band has been performing and touring across both America and Europe, selling out shows. Their next tour kicks off August, and tickets are already available – they plan on visiting cities such as New York, Los Angeles and others across America before moving onto Europe for October shows. Visit their website to see if there will be a stop near you!
I Love You So F***ing Much
Dave Bayley of U.K. indie pop band Glass Animals found himself caught up in an unexpected storm and then in an Airbnb house perched high above Mulholland Drive near Los Angeles while suffering with fever. While in an existential crisis at this moment in his life.
“My existential crisis reached new levels,” he says with a laugh.
Bayley quickly saw his musical project Glass Animals draw rave reviews online when he released its initial demos online; but instead chose to withdraw them and focus on his studies and enroll in a bachelor’s program instead of continuing the band. Although taking this route may have limited his creativity temporarily, eventually it allowed for it to resurface when on its first album Zaba by David Bayley, Drew MacFarlane and Edmund Irwin-Singer became indie darlings; their 2016 followup Dreamland provided more intimate music that further explored their art-rock/club-pop dialectic that had made them standouts indie favorites;