Glass Animals at The Roundhouse
Entering the venue, the mood of the night to come seemed to emanate throughout. Huge Tetris shaped lights hang high above the stage, glowing a bright orange/yellow light across the growing audience. After a short entrance, the band wastes no time before jumping into their first song, Life Itself – a catchy, drum-heavy song that entices you to dance along. The front-man, Dave Bayley, starts leaping around the stage while sending his voice flying across the venue in almost flawless tone and clarity.
Having grabbed the attention of the crowd and set the energetic mood of the show, the band quickly plunges into more great songs from both their albums, including Season 2 Episode 3 – giving off an odd romantic ballad vibe to the crowd - Gooey, Youth, and Black Mambo to name a few. The set list allows for no dull moments or times of rest from the onslaught of catchy lyrics, mindless dance-inducing beats and sounds, and vibrant visuals emanating from the Tetris block lights and lit up desert foliage along the stage.
The show finishes with an absolutely deserved encore, as the front-man storms down the middle of the screaming crowd before the band plays their own take on Kanye West’s hit song Love Lockdown. They follow this with Pork Soda, which unexpectedly involves the throwing of a pineapple from stage to crowd.
Glass Animals are massive and for a very good reason: the release of songs each built on its own unique sound and set of lyrics. All are very easy (sometimes annoyingly so) to sing along to and stick in your head. Shows like this are a testament to their ability to not only produce great music, but to show it off with great musicianship and style.
