Do you ever think back to the artists you listened to as a teenager and cringe a little? I do. I can probably count on one hand how many of them I still regularly listen to today: Lorde, The Front Bottoms, the various artists of the Shrek 2 soundtrack. But the band that tops that exclusive list remains Glass Animals.
For the longest time I've been unable to understand why this band has had such a hold on my ears. I mean, obviously, I think the music sounds lovely. Lead vocalist Dave Bayley's knack for emotional lyricism is a huge draw for me, and the band's instrumentalists — Drew MacFarlane on guitar/keys, Edmund Irwin-Singer on bass/keys and Joe Seaward on drums — know just how to back each track. But that still doesn't explain the band's longevity on my playlists.
But while listening to Glass Animals' album I Love You So F***ing Much when it dropped in July, I finally began to comprehend. As the band's sound evolved over every single record, I realized I was hearing exactly what I needed to in that moment. I understand that we all create meaning in media where we need it most, so it's not shocking that I'd feel that way about a song or an album. However, the ability of an entire artist's discography to resonate so deeply within me feels rare.
When Glass Animals debuted with Zaba in 2014, I was finishing up my first year of high school and had this very narrow view of what music could be. I'd obviously bopped to every top pop song of the time, but anytime I was faced with a new or uncommon sound, I was turned off.
That changed though when I first heard a clip of "Pools" on some cringey Tumblr post while I was in bed scrolling. I was hooked on those groovy psychedelic sounds and wanted more. I immediately downloaded the album and spent the rest of the night, and the rest of the school year, with it blaring in my ears.
When the group released its second album How to Be Human in 2016, I was entering my final year of high school and very much learning how to be human. While Glass Animals' previous album taught me to love all types of music, this one spoke to my budding love for storytelling.
This album is pretty conceptual, as Glass Animals created a gaggle of 11 characters and told each of their stories through a song. It was basically this master class in how to write about a character in a compelling way.
Unfortunately, I didn't catch the band's breakout third album — 2020's Dreamland — until a few months after it was released. But, I guess that's probably exactly when I needed it, given... you know... 2020.
We were all in this weird liminal space during the first year of the COVID pandemic. I had time to think about the past and really try to look at the moments that made me who I am today. This was also the first album where the guys pulled from their own lives for each song, so we've got both these wonderful moments of nostalgia ("Dreamland" and "Space Ghost Coast to Coast") and these moments of real trauma ("Domestic Bliss" and "It's All So Incredibly Loud"). Imagine Bo Burnam's musical special Inside, but replace the depression with nostalgia.
But a funny thing happened while we were all locked inside — Glass Animals blew up. The single "Heat Waves" became a trending sound on TikTok. Following that trend, the band began a 59-week climb to eventually reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, holding that spot for five weeks and staying on the charts for a record 91 weeks.
It was a moment of well-deserved recognition that I think should have been extended to the band back when its first album dropped.
Now as Glass Animals kicks off its fourth era with I Love You So F***ing Much I'm again astounded by the band's ability to just make me feel something deep. In an interview with Forbes, lead singer Bayley says this album came to fruition while he was trying to find some understanding of our place in the universe, especially after so much weirdness in the last few years.
And as I'm finally settling into life in the Inland Northwest, I too am trying to process where I am in life — where I've been and where I'm going... well, at least where I'm going in life. I know where I'll be going this weekend — heading over to the Gorge to see Glass Animals for the first time. Now I don't really believe in fate, but maybe, this connection between the band's growth and my own is exactly how it's meant to be. ♦
Glass Animals, Eyedress, Blondeshell • Sat, Sept. 7 at 7:45 pm • All ages • $68-$180 • Gorge Amphitheater • 754 Silica Rd., Quincy • gorgeamphitheatre.com
