Glass Animals: “I love you so damn much.”
Riding on the peak of her 2021 mega hit “Heat Waves,” Glass animals have big shoes to fill with their latest album. Can the group land another chart-topper while still satisfying their long-time fans, many of whom generally prefer the band’s more alternative works from the 2010s? I love you so damn muchthe group fails to achieve the latter, the former remains questionable. Nothing is as impactful as “Heat Waves,” and their attempts at mainstream stardom lead them to abandon their creativity and potentially isolate their original fans.
That’s not to take away from how rich the record’s instrumentation sounds, though. The production is fantastic. The opener, “Show Pony,” starts with a lush symphony of guitars—some electric, some distorted, some acoustic. When lead singer Dave Bayley starts singing, the atmosphere disappears in favor of sparse percussion, but the dark electronic feel returns in the large-scale chorus. It’s not interesting, but pleasant enough. So it is with most of this album. Plus, the band members definitely have a talent for musical songwriting: a flair for catchy hooks and storytelling skills that make each song relatable.
“Whatthehellishappening” plays with some fun rhythms and synth pads, building to a jubilant chorus. It’s a solid pop song and one of the best on the album, with a bright summer sound that fits the joyful themes of lyrics like “I’m so happy/ This is exactly where I want to be.”
Nevertheless, this album does not do justice to its predecessor, the 2020 one. Dreamland.
“Creatures in Heaven” sounds OK, but doesn’t do anything particularly interesting—except when the word “apartment” is pronounced “apartmunt,” which is oddly drawn out to fit the rhyme scheme. It’s a small example of one of the problems with the record overall: a lot of it sounds forced. The melody in the chorus of “Creatures in Heaven” is no exception. Nor does Bayley’s “I’m a fucking delight” on “Wonderful Nothing” come across as unnatural and too forced. The song deserves some credit for trying to do something different from the rest of the generally repetitive tracklist, but the angsty mood, bumpy synth line, and trendy trap beat don’t mesh well together.
Despite being about passionate, obsessive love, “A Tear in Space (Airlock)” is another failed attempt at a bubblegum hit. It’s as if the high-pitched verses and the repetitive chorus are in competition: what could be more annoying?
On “I Can’t Make You Fall in Love Again,” a more unique, wavering beat defines the song’s structure. Bayley’s vocals are coated in a thick layer of reverb as he sings a high-pitched chorus that could pass for something from 2016’s Maroon 5. The stripped-down chorus of “How I Learned To Love The Bomb” finds the frontman singing in his lower register, a welcome change from the constant falsetto.
“White roses in the red dirt/ You said ‘it’s so beautiful it hurts,'” Bayley sings on “White Roses.” His prose is solid enough to carry these melodies, and it often comes across as heartfelt, if sometimes too quirky. On closer “Lost in the Ocean,” for example, he sings, “Put on a sitcom and stare at my toes.” It’s a sprawling, synth-filled and dreamy track that’s one of the most enjoyable here. “How can you be so loved and so lonely?” he asks, summing up the project’s ongoing theme of all-consuming love.
This project will likely do well on the radio and in the charts. It may even be an entertaining listen. Some of the electronic production is rich and euphoric enough to play during summer drives. But no amount of reverb on Bayley’s falsetto or synths running behind catchy hooks can make up for the lack of interesting or creative substance. Beneath its glossy surface I love you so damn much is hollow.
