Just in time for cool vibes during the cool weather of the fall, Triple M is bringing you Glass Animalsto the Orpheum this Tuesday, October 6th as part of their 2015 North American Tour! If you haven't heard already, it's about time to get in tune because the band knows exactly how to breach your mind and get you digging their musical output.
Originally hailing from Oxford, England, Glass Animals breached the international music community with their debut album, Zaba, in 2014. Having had previous content out, including their Leaflings and Pools EPs, it wasn't until later that they signed with Wolf Tone. Since their record deal and their debut album release, the band has toured internationally and has had multiple records reach top 20 on Billboard Charts.
What's a band with a name like Glass Animals playing you might ask? Exactly what the name sounds like to you. But instead of the eye boggling prestige of glass work, GA reels you in with their whimsical sound combining electronic production with a live band and atmospheric vocals by lead singer, David Bayley. Bayley combines influences from his studies in medicine and neuroscience for his creative output. As Orpheum put it, their “result is the warm, narcotic space between a down beat, slow-burning groove, and electro pop catchiness.” Music Maps considers the band to have similar vibes to Alt-J, Wildcat! WildCat!,Phantogram, and Hosier, to name a few.
I can't knock that! Having been put onto Glass Animals by a friend last year, I was intrigued ASAP. I had the chance to listen to their Zaba LP on vinyl purchased from Strictly Discs, and it was a wrap! PLAY. REPEAT. PLAY. REPEAT. I swear I looped that album more than a few times on the first listen.
The Zaba LP has everything from low, mellow, down-beat,bassy beats with faint melodic vocals and simple synth melodies all the way to double-timed faster electro-dance tempos that are energetic and capable to get you moving. An additional highlight is that the band has admitted in interviews to having some hip-hop influence from their childhood that can be heard in their production, and they also note that they often are producing or writing for other rappers!
That's dope! Especially because I'm an avid Hip-Hop fan. Must be why I became so easily hooked. Not to mention the fact that they also featured Jean Deaux, female singer and rapper from Chicago, on their track Woozy. Shouts out the hometown!
Although their lyrics aren't as straightforward as rap tracks, dreamlike Bayley vocals along with drums by Joe Seaward, bass/keys by Edmund Irwin-Singer, and keys/guitar from Drew MacFarlane intrigue the ear and make you wonder where their inspiration comes from. Noted tracks from the group include Black Mambo, Gooey, and Toes to name a few. The lyrics hint toward a magical-realism feel, often referring to nature, its surroundings, and natural actions of the human body. Take for instance the hook from their hit, Black Mambo:
“slow down, it's a science, he's been waiting to bring you down, snake eyed with a sly smile, he can hold you and shake you child.”
Or for instance from Gooey,
“right my little pooh bear, wanna take a chance; wanna sip the smooth air, kick it in the sand; I'll say I told you so, but you just gonna cry; you just wanna know those peanut butter vibes.”
Trippy. Nonetheless, even the band admits their songs are just meant to be playful and don't necessarily always have a direct meeting in an interview by The Line of Best Fit. Huw Oliver writes that the band is “inspired by psychiatry (that was Dave's degree), 70s-era Can, the Island of Doctor Moreau, Heart of Darkness and “weird books about the New World, exploration and people going deep into the jungle finding weird communities and crazy people”, the result is a highly literary, highly exotic-sounding album.”
Earlier at the beginning of this summer I got the chance to watch them play at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee. Originally scheduled to play at the Pabst Blue Ribbon theater, tickets sold out so they had to relocate to a bigger venue! The Show? Boss of course. It was so packed downstairs that we had to grab some seats on the second level of the opera style theater, but it didn't even matter. The show sent chill vibes all over the venue engaging the main floor where spectators stood and waved with each other left to right. Even everyone in our section was standing. With awesome tech, things got extra hazey when their track Hazey played against smoke machines bouncing off green stage lights. With Midi sequencers, live instrumentation, and even some weird arm dancing by Bayley, the whole crowd was having a great time. Heck, Bayley even climbed a speaker at the left end of the stage and sang hook to the crowd from the second level. So we'll see if the Orpheum gets any surprises!
Of course that's not all; special guests Hinds are the opening act, so it's bound to be a wavy time. Don't miss out on an awesome fall show!
Check out their visual for Hazey below! For tickets and further show information, click here.
