Released on August 26th, Glass Animals’ "How To Be A Human Being" has already reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts in the Top Rock Albums category. Its success is no surprise due to the cleverly arranged instrumentals and introspective stories each song presents. How To Be A Human Being takes us through the lives of various characters through the use of unique electronic sounds and enticing, detailed imagery. Unlike their previous and debut album, "Zaba", "How To Be A Human Being" possesses certain elements and personalization which focus more on actual people than a fantastic and dreamy jungle.
“Life Itself," released on May 16th, was the first single on their sophomore album and is centered around an odd character who finds himself stuck because his inability to get out of poverty. He is upset with his father for holding him to high expectations and resents his mother for criticizing his physical appearance. Despite the upbeat riffs, it is evident that the character struggles with drug addiction and other burdens of being impoverished.
Dave Bayley, the lead singer of Glass Animals, discusses how the concepts for this character and many others, including the lovable stoner from “Season 2 Episode 3” and the vengeful wife from “Mama’s Gun”, were created from experiences the band shared on the road. Bayley found himself in a sort of sonder, contemplating the complexities each person around him may have been facing. Interesting people Bayley encountered became focal points throughout the album, their stories captured through unforgettable depictions and quirky sound effects.
Both “Life Itself” and the proceeding song, “Youth," discuss the hardships of addiction. “Youth” presents it through the eyes of a child who lost his mother to drugs rather than a hands-on experience. Both singles have music videos related to one another, with such intricate aesthetics and objects placed with a precision that makes Glass Animals’ genius very evident. The boy in the “Life Itself” music video, accompanied by an opulent middle aged woman, appears to be escaping two villains in an exciting desert setting. Meanwhile, a waitress going about her daily life receives a phone call from the middle aged woman which leaves her in a state of shock. Viewers are led to believe the waitress and the boy must be connected in some way, and this theory is confirmed in the music video for “Youth” where the two characters are found in the same restaurant, the young boy dancing and joyful while the waitress parallels him with a somber and gloomy mood. The band does a fantastic job of transforming seemingly mundane events into a deeply connected plot through the beautiful and effective imagery of their music videos.
Much of How To Be A Human Being and its iconic videos take its audience through a fast-paced and dark yet whimsical journey, but there is an evident mood shift once the penultimate track, “Poplar St.”, begins to play. The flute from “Youth” or gaming sound effects of “Season 2 Episode 3” disappear, fading into a “Red-Hot-Chili-Peppers-esque” series of guitar riffs and a nostalgic childhood tale. The details and thought placed into “Poplar St.” remove the distance between Bayley and his characters making it seem as if these events had happened to the songwriter himself. In “Agnes” the final song on the album, Bayley and the supposed narrator become indistinguishable. His lyrics and piano instrumental drip of nothing but raw emotion and vulnerability, closing off a successful chapter in the lives of his characters and the band itself.
Despite the evident changes in style Glass Animals have experienced, they maintain a unique musical take on the ordinary world that continues to place them at the tops of charts. Although How To Be A Human Being lacks the continuity of Zaba, it speaks from the heart. Each song with its varying R&B, electronic, and alternative instrumentals is strung together with a brilliance and thoughtfulness many other bands lack. The dedication and humanity of their sophomore album have allowed Glass Animals to save 2016 in the indie world, wowing international audiences once again.
