Six months ago Dave Bayley and band mates Drew MacFarlane (guitar), Edmund Irwin-Singer (bass) and Joe Seward (drums) ended their massive debut world tour. Dave still has difficulty grasping their overwhelming success. “It’s so weird, I made music with my friends for fun” he says, “I didn’t actually think it would become my career, I haven’t even had time to really think about it”.
Considering the instant success of their first album, the pressure around the release of their second album has been palpable. Zaba has sold over 500,000 copies and was streamed over 200 million times across all platforms so expectations were running high. And boy, were expectations met.
It comes as no surprise that the band’s second album, How To Be A Human Being, is a hit. It was recorded in 6 months, an incredibly short amount of time for an album. “We literally got off the [tour] bus and went to the studio” says Bayley. The first single from the album, ‘Life Itself’, reflects the band’s new ambitions. The songs are more daring, pop-punk and charmingly imperfect.
How To Be A Human Being feels more intimate, which seems only natural considering the album talks about people. The songs are inspired by recordings that David made on his phone: “I tried to record people having conversations without them noticing, taxi drivers, people we met at concerts or parties. People can say the oddest things when they’re under the impression they won’t ever see you again”. The album spins a web of human life stories; their fascination with human behaviour makes Glass Animals‘ music unique and addictive. How To Be A Human Being is as complex as the human mind, shedding light on Glass Animals’ psyche and the wonders of the human condition.
Watch Glass Animal’s Deezer Session here:
