Glass Animals Capture All Angles of Love in 'I Love You So F***ing Much'
Though their 2020 viral hit “Heat Waves” is perhaps what got Glass Animals the most fame, the band has a rich history. At the forefront of the shiver pop genre, they immediately set themselves apart with their debut album, Zaba, in 2014. They continued to make waves with How To Be A Human Being (2016) and Dreamland (2020). Most recently, they’ve released their fourth album, I Love You So F***ing Much, once again creating a unique, mesmerizing collection of songs.
Photo via @glassanimals on Instagram.
The album starts off strong with “Show Pony.” Immediately, the sound is most clearly reminiscent of Dreamland, with heavily synthesized instrumentals and that distinct, desperately nostalgic sound. Here, however, it seems that lead singer Dave Bayley’s vocals are in the spotlight — perhaps more than they ever have been. He sings loud and clear with lyrics such as “But you don’t, baby, you’re alone / Echoes in your head, pressed into the floor.”
“whatthehellishappening?” is a triumphant anthem, exactly as fast-paced as the title alludes to. In an interview with NPR, Bayley described the helpless thrill of how their previous album blew up mid-pandemic — the metaphor of being kidnapped in this song speaks to that. But the chorus is perhaps as blatant as anything can be, repeating, “I’m so happy, this is just where I wanna be” four times in a row.
The album was first teased on TikTok with clips of “Creatures in Heaven.” As the third song on the album, it feels like it was an apt choice to be released as the first single. It seems to encapsulate the sound of the album and touches on the outer space motifs throughout the work with lyrics like “And it gets into your head like a cosmic zoom / Coat on the door like an old space suit” as well as the titular claim “We were just creatures in heaven.”
Arguably one of the best on the album, “Wonderful Nothing” is described by Bayley on Instagram as simply “love vs hate.” The song begins slowly, building suspense. The band seems to fully lean into their wonderfully (pun intended) weird style and spitfire lyrics as the song goes on, the chorus feeling like it could be the backing track of a sci-fi movie. Would it be for the hero’s journey or the villain’s origin? That’s for the listener to decide.
The second single from the album, “A Tear in Space (Airlock)” was released in June, once again building anticipation for the album and setting the stage for the overall vibe. Similar to “Creatures in Heaven,” this song felt like an appropriate single. As soon as one listens to it, they are left curious and wanting more of that peculiar yet addicting sound.
“I Can’t Make You Fall in Love Again” continues to carry and refine the album’s aesthetic. The band has a knack for making every song feel of the utmost importance, setting the listener on edge in the most gripping, thrilling way.
“How I Learned To Love The Bomb” perhaps wins the award for most intriguing title, and the song itself does not disappoint. Bayley bites out the chorus, “And you're just two-sided / So goddamn indеcisive / Oh, and it's deep in inside you / I think I just found the bomb,” the listener feels the lyrics sink beneath their skin. The song, like much of the album, infiltrates one’s very being.
While most of the album seems to be adjacent to Dreamland, “White Roses” feels like it easily could’ve been a track on How To Be A Human Being as one of the most introspective tracks on the album.
Finally, after the upbeat, second-to-last track “On the Run,” “Lost in the Ocean” wraps the album up sonically with its quieter, calmer melody. However, it asks perhaps the hardest-hitting question out of every song: “How are you so loved and so lonesome?”
After hearing this album all the way through, the listener is left in a trance. It seems as if we’ve just been taken on a journey, space and time swirling and collapsing around us. What is important to note about this album is Bayley’s own explanation after being asked who he was referring to in the title. He described the album as a “collection of existential love stories” and explained that the “you” was actually multiple entities — anyone that Bayley has been close to, the album itself, and the listener. Each song, while addressed to this all-encompassing “you” actually refers to someone different. Here, it seems that Bayley is not talking about the experience of loving one person but simply the experience of love in all its strange and beautiful glory.
