GLASS ANIMALS Vinyl & CDs

Review: Glass Animals are one of the hottest English indie rock bands out there right now. Their second studio album How to Be a Human Being came back in August 2016 was appreciated for its sense of wonder and lasting musical impression. Each of the tracks in the album is represented by one of the people on the original album cover and this reissue comes in the form of a zoetrope picture disc. Inspiration for the people on the cover came from people the band met and stories they were told during their travels on tour promoting their previous album.

Review: Now happily back in business following drummer Joe Seward's long recovery from a near-fatal accident in 2018, Oxford four-piece Glass Animals return with what could be their most colourful, vibrant and ear-catching album to date. Musically, it's all effervescent, synthesizer-driven production, dreamy vocal arrangements, neon-lit R&B sounds and hip-hop inspired beats, yet the songs are deeply personal, with front man Dave Bayley (assisted on standout "Tokyo Drifting" by rapper Denzel Curry) offering autobiographical lyrics for the very first time. It's a great combination, all told, and one that makes "Dreamland" really sparkle.

Review: By now we all know Glass Animals were born in and among Oxford's psychedelic pop scene, rather than the trap spots of Atlanta. Although you could be forgiven for making that mistake, if this is your first encounter. The four piece take plenty of inspiration from sweat-soaked, kick and snare-laden southern US sounds, sexy R&B and pimp hop, but it's not a case of imitation as the highest form of flattery - the beats can seriously hold their own, even if the tones will never actually be theirs. Socio-psychological discourse aside, 'Dreamland' is the sum-total of our overall point. There's a sticky, sleazy and altogether intoxicating vibe running through most of what's here, conjuring images of slick-to-touch flesh in deep midsummer party mode. Just check the fittingly explicit 'Tokyo Drifting', featuring Florida rapper Denzel Curry, and the rest should fall into place.

Review: This Oxford-hailing troupe made considerable global headway with 'Zaba', their debut album of two years ago, yet that record's sumptuous tropicalia now appears little more than a precursor to this still more ambitious and far-reaching record, which rather than venturing into unchartered territory twists the everyday to its own designs. Amidst this heat-haze of colourful musical invention and elasticated groove, singer David Bayley excels in essaying vivid lyrical insights and warped character studies, resulting in slick yet eccentric soundscapes as likely to appeal to fans of the no-limits showmanship of Kanye West as the genteel indie of Wild Beasts.