Four-piece Oxford band Glass Animals arrived in Cambridge for their sold-out show at the ideal venue, Junction J2. First on stage was Alicia Catling, a local songwriter/guitarist with a steadily rising profile. Playing a gently strummed and unadorned electric guitar her pure voice floats above, telling dream-like and dark tales.
Glass Animals know how to put on a good show, the opener ‘Black Mamba’ sets the tone, with distinctive sparse introduction and haunting melody line eventually giving way to louder layers of synthesisers and drums. Singer Dave Bayley is a likeable frontman, he is a confident presence and you can tell that he and the rest of the band have total commitment to the music.
The surreal quality of the lyrics and mostly one-word titled songs continue, there is always something going on sonically with constantly changing combinations of keyboards, guitars and deep bass. Sometimes they become a more conventional indie rock band and rock out, but the dominant sound is multi-layered and spacious. Four songs in, the familiar introduction of catchy 6 Music favourite ‘Gooey’ appears, to huge crowd reaction. It is a standout song, the sound of endless summer on the way.
‘Walla Walla’ has a funky and percussive feel that could be an experimental David Byrne track, ‘Toes’ has a laid-back but relentless edge. The atmosphere created is enhanced by a coloured backdrop, four large tree-like structures and a subtle but effective lightshow; all indicating the effort being put into making this gig a bit special. Finishing the set with ‘Wyrd’ they returned for an encore of ‘Love Lockdown'(a Kanye West cover(!?)) then finally ‘Pools’, a strong closing song.
I think they will need a bigger venue the next time they come to Cambridge…
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