Glass Animals
Indietronica heroes MGMT slap Alt-J in the face, plunging them into a glistening pool of deliciously smooth R&B beats. Emerging through that surface of tropical waters are Glass Animals, an alt-pop quartet from Oxford making beats wavy enough to surf on.
If there’s one thing to take away from the band’s packed-out show at Norwich’s LCR on Friday night, it’s that Glass Animals love an aesthetic. Two large cacti props line each side of the stage, whilst a marvellous pineapple disco ball glimmers like Saturday Night Fever but prevails not unlike a cult symbol. A couple of fans bring along their own tropical fruits, but have to wait until the encore of Pork Soda for the reference – “pineapples are in my head”; eccentric psychedelia is clearly core to the Glass Animals brand.
The band are on full form. Frontman Dave Bayley’s wheezy falsetto duplicates the record flawlessly whilst band pals hop from guitars to synths and back again with expert slickness. Despite its greater commercial success, there is no prejudice towards the latest record, with an alternating mix of sophomore How To Be A Human Being and debut effort Zaba.
Opening with the tribal beats of radio favourite Life Itself, the gig kick-starts into an immersive festival of hypnotic beats, dizzy production and a party atmosphere of a high-octane energy evoked from a frontman with some serious moves. Debut cut Black Mambo boasts a velvety smooth aura, sonically dense with trickling arpeggios, showing the band can soundtrack both celebration and the impending comedown. Critic’s favourite Season 2, Episode 3 continues along these lines with jaunty organ, clean hip-hop hi-hat and Glass Animal’s signature lyrical bizarrity – “my girl eats mayonnaise from a jar when she’s getting blazed”.
The set list continues through a plethora of debut cuts and sophomore tracks, hazy swayers and jittering boogies, each receiving equal appreciation from an enthusiastic crowd. Glass Animals create woozy pop which distorts reality without losing its capacity to deliver a party.
