Live Review: Glass Animals

A nearby punter observes, "It smells like someone's taken their shoes off," which she goes on to explain to her mate reminds her of the smell of amyl. Yep, it's a uni-aged festival crowd.

Glass Animals tear on and start with their latest single, Life Itself, which transports us into a warped tropical universe where the punch bowl has definitely been spiked — it's brilliant; every effervescent detail. There's an actual surge forward as soon as the gentle trills of Gooey's intro caress our eardrums; frontman Dave Bayley mainly performs their hit from the photography pit. Bayley can't help but dance in an animalistic fashion to his music and we all follow suit. His voice sounds a little tired, but the crowd sing-alongs largely conceal this limitation. A new song proves an op for some to chat/pash-on to, but the audience is back in fine voice for, "Come back, baby/Don't you cryyyyyyy" — the band's sultry swayer of a track, Hazey.

More live instrumentation has crept into the Glass Animals live show with all bar drummer Joe Seaward brandishing axes during some songs. Seaward's crisp drumming is metronomic perfection. That a cappella Toes intro, though — no wonder surrounding couples are getting amorous! The beauty of Glass Animals is in their attention to detail; sounds crackle and simmer, making us feel as if we're dancing in an exotic rainforest. Drew MacFarlane's guitar solo raises cheers and the band leave the stage after what seems like only about half an hour. 

Then Glass Animals return to the stage, Bayley introducing their cover of Kanye West's Love Lockdown, which was first performed as their Like A Version back in 2014. He scales the photography pit barrier and weaves through the crowd ("Be careful. Sorry. You okay?") until he reaches a midfield railing, from which he delivers their inspired version (which we actually prefer to the original, sorry Yeezus). Glass Animals close with a jubilant, extended version of Pools ("I smile because I want to/I smile because you want to").

Wandering toward the exit, we notice a pack of smokes has emptied out over dancefloor. There's also a fairly long queue for the breath-o-meter on the wall. Glass Animals sure do bring the party vibes.