‘How To Be A Human Being’ is a scrapbook of the bands time spent on the road, gathering memories and perceptions of different types of people from all around the world.
Unveiled in mid May as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record, ‘Life Itself’, the first single from the album, has already elevated the band’s sonorous buzz to a whole new level. The track is an immersive, exotic and characteristically off-kilter earworm, reintroducing the band in the wake of their sensational ascent into a force to be reckoned with.
Glass Animals’ debut ‘Zaba’, released on Paul Epworth’s label Wolf Tone, has so far sold nearly half a million copies worldwide and amassed a staggering 200 million Spotify streams, obliterating all expectations simply by word of mouth. Their anomalous rise has gained the Oxford four-piece a legion of fans all over the world, including festival appearances at the likes of Falls in Australia, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury and has resulted in the band playing 2 sold out headline shows at LA’s 2000-capacity Wiltern and NYC’s 3000-capacity Terminal 5.
To those expecting another album like Zaba, this album may end up as a disappointment. Glass Animals found success on a rather unique and creative sound and continued to expand their inner-weirdness and creativity by not playing it safe, instead opting for more ambition. This approach has paid off admirably as How to Be a Human Being is more than just a collection of stories told through characters like the ones on the album’s art, but is also a showcase of the band’s talent. Taking this talent, expending as much creative energy and ridiculousness as possible while deviating from their beloved sound, the result is an album that one would be hard pressed to find a comparable output to; and that’s a fantastic dilemma.