UK’s Glass Animals Slink Through The Shadows In San Francisco

San Francisco – While the rest of the country was preparing for our annual celebration of independence from Great Britain, the City by the Bay was preparing for the UK’s own Glass Animals to invade and showcase their talents as Oxford’s new “it” band.

After a promising set by San Francisco’s own electronic folk group There’s Talk, the four Oxford lads took to the stage amidst a soundtrack of nature sounds before heading to a pair of keyboards, a drum set, and a microphone that lay in wait.

The theme of the night seemed to be the interaction between light and shadow—both physically and musically—as the bands simplistic yet effective presentation drew heavy influence from the light that danced above them. Such lighting was especially effective during the mellower points of the set, as it added depth to the band’s dreamy instrumentation and gelatinous vocals.

While most of the set was devoted to showcasing tracks from the band’s first full-length LP, ZABA—released last month—a few of the band’s earlier tracks seeped into the set, including the opener “Psylla” and early favorite “Exxus,” both from last year’s self-titled EP. “Psylla” effectively set the tone for the show with its droopy, slinky arrangements.

“Black Mambo” and “Flip” followed, respectively, with “Black Mambo” being the band’s first true single. “Flip” was especially amazing, as the building crescendo sneakily drew the crowd further in, bursting with bass-laden ferocity. Recent single—and apparent crowd favorite—“Gooey” followed “Flip” (after the brief interlude-like “Intruxx”), and had the entire crowd swaying, singing, and waving their arms manically in the air. The band then oozed into the upbeat, joyous “Walla Walla,” which basically had the entire audience erupting into a flurry of joyous, erratic dancing.

The rest of Glass Animals’ set was on the low-key side of things, with more tracks from ZABA, including songs like “Toes,” “Wyrd,” and “Cocoa Hooves.” After the conclusion of the main set, the audience begged for an encore, which took the form of popular single and ZABA track “Pools.” The track had the crowd once again on its feet, sculpting corrosively enigmatic dance moves.

While the band spent most of its time onstage exploring the juxtaposition of light and shadow under an ever-changing rainbow of light, the music seemed to echo the dichotomy. Glass Animals came to not only please their eager fans, but, as it seems, to emanate extraordinary (and at times, almost supernatural) energy into our fair city. The music they produce has an unhindered amount of creative energy that is sure to carry on for years to come.

This show has the opportunity to be one of those “I saw them in the tiniest venue when they first came out” bragging moments, before Glass Animals steps into the spotlight they will inevitably be under in the future.

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Corey Bell

Corey Bell is no stranger to music.Having spent the better part of the past decade at concerts and music festivals around the globe, he finds he is most at home in the company of live music.Originally a native of New England, he has since taken residence in New York and New Orleans, and now resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.He achieved his Bachelor of Arts from Goddard College in Vermont via an undergraduate study entitled “Sonic Highways: Musical Immersion on the Roads of America," in which he explores the interactions between music, natural environment, and emotion while travelling along the scenic byways and highways of the United States.His graduate thesis, “Eighty Thousand’s Company,” features essays regarding the historical and socio-economic facets of contemporary festival culture intertwined with personal narrative stories of his experiences thereof.He is the former editor of Art Nouveau Magazine and holds a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from California College of the Arts.