I’m going to start this out by saying I am not a professional album reviewer. Simply a fan.

The first song I heard from Glass Animals was “Hazey”, which is actually from their debut album, ZABA. It had such a unique sound that I immediately was interested in the band, and when I was at the mall with my boyfriend the next day and saw “How to Be a Human Being” I grabbed it without knowing a single song on the record and listened to it start to finish the whole way home.

This is a FANTASTIC album. It takes the listener on an emotional ride from beginning to end, maintains variation in instrumental stylings and vocals, calls attention to social issues, and is just downright groovy. I have not listened to anything else in my car since I bought it three weeks ago and my favorite song changes every few hours. The indie rock, psychedelic pop album has seventies vibes to it and is something that makes me want to close my eyes and dance like nobody’s watching.

Right away the band starts with a banger… “Life Itself” opens the album with a sensual drumbeat that builds into chorus. The song talks about being free and that’s how you feel when listening. Another standout for me in the first half of the album is “Season 2 Episode 3” appropriately named as it’s the third song on their second album. The song incorporates video game power up sounds into the beat and is about a lazy girl who basically does nothing but lay around and “eats mayonnaise from a jar while she’s gettin blazed”. The music video shows this, and the girl gets sucked into a video game where she ultimately rescues the band. The song is chill and and fun to listen to, and something we can probably all relate to after a rough time.

“Pork Soda” is a standout song on the album, it talks about a relationship that used to be fun and happy, and lost its spark. Another thing many people have experienced. I can’t officially confirm this, but it’s been said that the band wrote the main chorus lyric “pineapples all in my head” after hearing a homeless man say it on the street. The song has a relaxing intro and some hard hitting tones in the middle, and fizzles out at the end. Similar to the ups and downs of a relationship.

Towards the end of the record the band shows some more of its indie rock side. “The other side of Paradise” is a great example. A jealous, scorned lover, left behind because their partner wanted fame. A myriad of instrumentals, building to an emotional hard hitting drop at the end. Prime storytelling in lyricism and music. This song is followed by “Take a Slice” which is my current favorite. Opening with deep bass and guitar, low tones flow smoothly until they harshly interrupted by the faster paced higher pitched chorus. This song is a rebel. With lyrics like “I’m filthy and I love it, Studebaker all gold, got a shotgun in my pocket”, electric guitar loud in the chorus, you can’t help but want to blast this song with the windows down.

The Album ends on calmer but strong note, with “Poplar St.” a groovy jam about a teenage boy seduced by a woman who lives down the street, only to be tossed aside, and “Agnes” probably the most romantic song on the record. Incorporating piano into the electronic beat, it speaks of a love lost to the sadness of the world. And the singer is struggling without her. Though the song itself is sad there is hope in the tone of the music.