Glass Animals headlining London’s O2 Arena was “very special” for the band,” explained vocalist Dave Bayley. After looking out onto the screaming crowd though, he decided sincerity could wait. “Let’s just play some tunes”.
And the band has plenty of them. After forming in Oxford and practising in a South East London bedroom, the four-piece quickly built up a cult following with their quirky, R&B-infused indie rock. Then came 2020’s third album Dreamland and viral megahit Heat Waves which made Glass Animals one of the biggest guitar bands in the world.
The only way to follow it up was to blast off into space. The sci-fi inspired I Love You So F***ing Much was released earlier this year. Full of vintage synths and written after a particularly confusing, anxiety-riddled time in Bayley’s life, the record is a celebration of human connection.
On Thursday night, Glass Animals brought that community-driven message to 20,000 fans who were more than happy to embrace rowdy togetherness. Urgent opening track Life Itself had the whole room screaming “I look fantastic” as one and the posi-vibes kept coming. Your Love (Déjà vu) was a disco-ready slab of tropical pop, Wonderful Nothing was a sleek, sexy party-starter that came with a whole lot of lasers before Space Ghost Coast To Coast twisted angst into escapist joy.
Performing on the platform of a spaceship with a disco ball planet floating above their heads, Glass Animals put on a bombastic show that felt very comfortable in the massive venue. It’ll go down a treat at festivals next summer as well.
The band weren’t afraid to slow things down though. Creatures In Heaven kickstarted a desperate emo singalong, the twinkling Lost In The Ocean saw more than a few tears from the crowd before Bayley made his way to the middle of the venue to perform the brooding, twisting Gooey surrounded by fans.
It was a decadently playful show. The rumbling, bittersweet Show Pony saw fans waving inflatable cows, blow-up aliens were crowdsurfed during the hammering Tokyo Drifting and a pineapple was given away during the whirling funk of Pork Soda. The show started with two cartoon galaxies screaming with excitement and during the encore, they returned to the video screens to complain that Glass Animals hadn’t played their biggest songs yet. It was a refreshingly unserious arena rock show.
The band looked like they were having an absolute blast onstage as well and several moments of onstage chat were abandoned as Bayley just couldn’t stop laughing. He composed himself long enough to vocalise what everyone was feeling though. “When the world’s such a crazy place, it feels f*****g amazing to have this moment of togetherness and community. This is what it’s all about, so thank you for being part of it,” he said before the glorious Heat Waves gave the room one last chance to dance.
With tunes that jubilant, how could anyone refuse?
