“I’m not legally allowed to throw these any more,” says a remorseful Dave Bayley to a roar of disappointed boos. Glass Animals’ lead singer weighs up a pineapple in one hand. “It would knock you out!” As the four-piece band launches into the historically pineapple toss-inducing Pork Soda, their lead singer cautiously slips it into the front row.
The legal repercussions of fruit fights has been a recent consideration for the band. Formed in Oxford in 2010 and, soon after, signed by Adele’s producer, the quartet of childhood friends have gone from being indie club night staples in the UK to talkshow regulars in the US. With their third album Dreamland, Glass Animals’ hallucinogenic synth-pop has subtly shifted gear, relying more on conversational rap vocals from Bayley and the sort of tropical hip-hop production that has been ubiquitous in pop since Drake dropped Hotline Bling in 2015.
On stage, the band’s Dreamland is represented as a pastiche idea of America. Neon signs reading Hotel and Pool blare their light to the beat, while a pair of tennis shoes dangle off an oversized basketball hoop. Chain bouncing off his red sports shirt, Bayley conducts these light-up, Americana signifiers with glee, flanked by his more cautious, stationary bandmates.
Played live, Dreamland’s songs slip and slide into a gelatinous blend of synth-pop, early 2000s R&B and poolside hip-hop. There’s little to differentiate the band’s recent tracks, especially when Bayley’s voice – which, on record, moves with smooth cadence – occasionally fights to be heard against a rush of crescendo bass and a crowd more than enthusiastic to sing along.
It’s the earworms that cut through the wavy sonic homogeneity. Throwing his head back to The Other Side of Paradise’s opening woofs, Bayley pulls at his shirt with melodramatic intensity, while Tokyo Drifting’s trap beat gets a short-lived mosh pit going under bloody red lights. Finally letting loose, the band close their set with a sweaty rendition of Heat Waves (a slow-burn Top 5 hit after a year in the Top 40). “You can’t fight it / You can’t breathe,” croons Bayley, hair plastered to his forehead. As the Barrowland Ballroom’s doors fog with condensation, Glass Animals have certainly brought the heat to their first live show in nearly two years.
Glass Animals are on tour in the UK and Ireland until 25 November. Details here.
