In November of the preceding year, Dave Bayley, the lead vocalist of Glass Animals, found himself emotionally overwhelmed under the stage lights of Dublin’s Olympia Theatre. In one of the theatre’s exclusive seating boxes, a group of medical practitioners from Beaumont Hospital sat gathered. This very team had, nearly three years earlier, played a critical role in the life-saving treatment of the band’s drummer, Joe Seaward, who had been severely injured when he was hit by a lorry while cycling around Dublin.
“Joe had lived in Dublin for a considerable period and his accident almost marked the end of him and the band,” Bayley recounts. “We owe his survival to an extraordinary surgeon based in Dublin, accompanied by a phenomenal team of nurses and physiotherapists there. What they achieved was sheer miracle. Out of appreciation, we extended an invitation to them to watch our show the last time we were in the city. They shared the VIP box with Joe’s family, who had cared for him throughout”.
Known for his talkative nature and love for pop music, Bayley discloses this while on a Zoom call, as Glass Animals gear up for the release of their bold and intoxicating fourth album, “I Love You So F***ing Much”. The upcoming release is significant for the Oxford-based band, following the resounding international fame of “Heat Waves”—a song that Bayley penned in response to the shock and distress his bandmate’s life-threatening crash in July 2018 provoked. As a result of the accident, Seaward suffered a skull fracture, damaging the part of the brain attributed to language, leaving him initially able to only utter the word “I”.
Retracing the traumatic incident brings Bayley to the verge of tears; he remembers vividly the rush of panic and concern he felt at hearing his friend’s unfortunate news and then rushing to his hospital bedside. His resulting apprehension features starkly in “Heat Waves” and the corresponding 2020 album, “Dreamland”.
The call with Joe’s father informing him about his friend’s collision is still vivid in his memory. “I’d just arrived in London and received the call. Based on the tone, I instantly knew something was amiss,” Bayley reminisces, “he shared, rather minimally, about the extent of Joe’s accident, presumably in an attempt to reduce its severity in his own mind. The seriousness of the situation only dawned upon me when I arrived in Dublin, and was greeted by his family.
For weeks on end, Bayley lingered at Beaumont, trying to find comfort on waiting-room benches, his basic needs being met by whatever the vending machine could provide. It was amid these strenuous episodes of heavy solitude that he created the foundation for “Heat Waves”, an unlikely success story.
Bayley recalls the birth of the third album as a product of challenging circumstances; as anxiety peaked, sleep dwindled and his mind wandered off to strange corners. His constant companions were worry, discomfort, and an anticipation of adverse news. Amid these turbulent times, soothing himself meant dwelling deeply within cherished memories. These memories served as the vital groundwork for the third album, crafted during an incredibly unusual period. Bayley expresses immense relief and joy at Seaward’s survival, despite the initial physical harm, proclaiming it ‘a miracle.’
“Heat Waves,” a melancholic and dystopian love tune reminiscent of The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, and Radiohead’s iconic “Kid A”, was launched in June 2020. Gradually, it began spiralling into something bigger, hitting the number one spot on the U.S. charts on March 12, 2022, after a lengthy 59-week run. This phenomenal achievement dramatically transformed Glass Animals’ career trajectory, ushering them from being a delightful yet fairly unknown band to a group commanding audiences at stadium-sized events, including a gig at 3Arena Dublin slotted for October 30th.
Bayley attempts to offer a measured perspective on their unexpected success. The long, gradual climb to number one was a path Bayley and his childhood friends from Oxford — who started this project while he was a neuroscience student at university — had anticipated for a while. Bayley believes that their stable foundations, built through a decade of creating music together, allowed them to handle their success more steadily than bands that experience instant fame.
Now, 10 years into their journey, with two albums under their belt and a humble beginning touring England in a Ford Ka, Bayley fondly reflects on their musical evolution. There’s a sense of unity among the four members, forged over long years of shared experiences. It’s reminiscent of their early days, where it was simply four friends passionate about creating the music they loved.
Bayley recalls the surreal experience of the breakout success of their hit, Heat Waves, which dominated airwaves during the global lockdown. It wasn’t until he returned to performing and experiencing the audience’s embrace that the enormity of their achievement truly sank in.
Stepping onto the stage felt like a bolt from the blue. He confesses being overwhelmed to the point of tears, a sensation that endured throughout their first ten shows. The staggering leap in fame made the entire experience feel detached from reality, and it took him a while to grasp the whole picture.
During the sudden prominence of Heat Waves, Bayley confesses to being swept up in the glamour and expectations, losing touch with his introverted nature. Chart-topping success led him to social gatherings, mingling with fellow artists, assuming the persona of a successful musician as deemed by society. He found himself collaborating with other artists, including Florence Welch and Jack Antonoff, attending social events and appearances, but he didn’t entirely fit in.
In these six months of living an extroverted lifestyle, he realised that he wasn’t dedicating enough time to the aspects that made him… well, himself. He felt most at home while immersed in the solitude of creating music.
The fast-paced, spotlight life stirred him to reevaluate and realised the importance of staying true to himself. Life of the party wasn’t his style; he preferred the tranquility of the background, away from attention, the spotlight. His journey back to his authentic self narratives their latest album.
“He acknowledges the merits of being an introvert and embracing it, even though society may not readily accept it. Today, with the prevalence of social platforms, many people find joy in superficial interactions. However, he advocates for real, authentic connections through his album, understanding that such relationships are often marred with heartbreak and discomfort. Love is not always a positive experience, but it’s uniquely beautiful; it can wound, scar, and cause pain, but it also toughens you, making you more resilient. Indeed, it is quite a complicated entity”.
Glass Animals debuted with “Zaba” in mid-2014, followed by their sophomore album, “How to Be a Human Being”, released in 2016. Their work initially simmered quietly but gradually won acclaim. Publications like NME hailed it for its futuristic synths and potent drum beats, while MixMag recognised their potential of making it big. Their music also gained a dedicated fanbase that identified with Bayley’s frequent mention of pineapples in his lyrics. So much so, that it provoked an infamous pineapple prohibition at Reading Festival in 2017.
Years later, they remain determined to scale new heights. Their recent offering, “I Love You So F***ing Much”, complements their previous hit “Heat Waves” perfectly, showcasing their continued growth and artistic evolution.
Immersed in lush synthetic sounds, the album is Bayley’s contemplation on love. It narrates him sifting through remnants of past relationships in songs like the hip-hop mesmeriser ‘Creatures In Heaven’ and questioning the boundary between love and lust in the icy electro-trancer ‘A Tear In Space – Airlock’.
Emotionally intense, the album likens the experience of forming human bonds to a roller coaster ride – thrilling but also nerve-wracking and gut-twisting. Bayley explains, “It’s designed to span the breadth of emotions from sadness to anger, all different shades of love. It probably begins quite cynically, but it ultimately brings you to the realisation that feeling these things is normal.”
“Feeling sadness, irritation, and vulnerability are all part of the human experience, including experiencing isolation. Achieving perpetual joy only sounds ideal, but wouldn’t be in reality. Undeniably, the world is indeed going through odd times. And it would indeed feel disturbingly unnatural to pen an overly positive album in light of it all,” Fran Healy of Travis subtly cautions.
The groundwork of his album took shape in Los Angeles. His idea was to escape to the sun-drenched landscape of Southern California in search of some creative stimulation. However, this idea rapidly went up in flames when the city was slammed by a severe weather shock. His holiday vision quickly turned nightmarish; Bayley’s rented Airbnb was perched precariously on stilts, overlooking a steep precipice just beyond Mulholland Drive. With escalating winds threatening to tip the balance, there was a looming threat of total catastrophe.
Following this, Bayley fell severely ill with a case of Covid-19. Predictably, this was far from pleasant. Despite this, looking back, he appreciates how this extreme backdrop served as the perfect setting to pen an album. Nothing ignites creativity quite like living through a calamity.
His near-death experience served as a wake-up call, forcing him to face his existential crisis head-on. It provided the intense pressure he needed to kickstart his next project – his upcoming album.
Various endeavours to live a more social, outgoing lifestyle were short-lived lasting merely six months.
His illness only amplified his feeling of despair and confusion. He explains, “it felt similar to a dreadful psychedelic experience, coinciding with an already insane situation. It was eerie and strangely felt like I was hallucinating. In addition, the house appeared to be on the brink of toppling down the cliff engulfed in trees.”
Glass Animals, a band cherished in both the US and Europe epitomises a transatlantic success story. This is apt considering Bayley spent his early years in Massachusetts and Texas before moving to Oxford at the age of thirteen. A transition that was initially quite traumatic, but he believes it provided him with a unique outsider’s perspective on his lyrical artistry.
The Dáil was informed that nine music festivals were called off this year and insinuated that without government interference, further disruptions may take place next year. A vast adjustment was experienced by an individual who, at age 13, transitioned from a massive American high school in Texas, which boasted a grand football team and all the typical American high school features, to an English school that drew comparisons with a bizarre take on Harry Potter, causing initial discontent.
However, the individual behind the deeply profound tones of I Love You So F***ing Much seems in high spirits these days. Almost half a decade after Heat Waves, he anticipates the excitement of introducing new melodies and making his way back to Dublin – a city that plays a significant role in Glass Animals’ chronicle, with both positive and negative links.
Citing an innate reflex to feel nervous at the sight of large assemblies, the individual admits to experiencing stage fright. However, this uneasiness is quickly dispelled once the first song is performed. The warmth that emanates from the unity and camaraderie among the crowd brings assuagement and beauty, underpinning the true essence of community spirit.
I Love You So F***ing Much is slated for a July 19th release, and Glass Animals have a performance scheduled at 3Arena, Dublin for October 30th.