Album Review: Glass Animals – Dreamland (Polydor)
Dreamland is the third LP from Glass Animals and is reported to be an autobiographical tour of frontman Dave Bayley’s life.
After listening to the lyrics you can identify the memories of previous friends, crazy times, and regrets. This psychedelic foursome from Oxford has weaved together sounds that have easily identifiable pop and early 2000’s hip hop influences. The result is an album that seems like the blurred remains of a dream. A hazy winding soundscape backed with electric drumbeats and interwoven with home video samples.
The title track has a simple synth melody and Dave Bayley’s lyrics are floaty and high. With nostalgia triggering lyrics such as “pull you into backstreets deep in your head”. Then there are tracks that explore more sombre themes such as It’s All So incredibly Loud, that explores the dreadful silent seconds experienced when you are unable to take back words that have hurt people with lyrics, “whispers could deafen me now”.
The track Domestic Bliss recounts Bayley’s memory of a friend’s mother enduring domestic violence. Alongside these, there are shiny poppy songs such as Your Love (Déjà Vu) and Tokyo Drifting that make it an album apt for listening to while floating on a lilo somewhere soaking in the upcoming summer sun.
~Sarah Richardson
Click here to watch the 13th Floor interview with Glass Animals’ Dave Bayley
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