Glass Animals come shaking Belgium during the first leg of their European tour to promote the sophomore How To Be A Human Being. Great hype was raised by the band itself by releasing pieces and bits about the songs and their stories and characters via social media, as well as by the two massive singles, Life Itself and Youth.
For this occasion, the Orangerie stage at the Botanique in Brussels is sold out since months.
Opening the dances and warming up the crowd is Pumarosa, a 5-piece from London in vintage Reebok shoes and Nike hats. The choice reveals immediately fitting in the mood of the night, with groovy synth/guitar and bass lines acting as a background to the charming and soulful voice of the lead singer, Isabel Munoz-Newsome. The songs evolve from catchy and almost funky parts to rave-psychedelic moments in a very interesting mix. The 30 mins set offers a very good showcase of the potentiality of this emerging band, who definitely succeeds in catching the crowd’s interest and build up expectations for the upcoming debut LP.
Accompanied by the spoken words of Premade Sandwiches and a cheering audience, Glass Animals, a 4-piece from Oxford, take on the stage. The beginning is as powerful and catchy as you can get, with the combo Life Itself and Black Mambo immediately preannouncing the high quality of the show we are about to witness. Driven by the lead singer/guitarist Dave Bayley, the quartet has complete control of the stage and constantly switches between guitar/bass groovy moments (Gooey) to 8-bit (Season2Episode3) and synth-loaded songs (Cane Shuga). Bayley tonight is a nightmare for photographers, never still for a moment and always busy with dance moves or jumping around the stage cheering the audience. The show is exceptional and the live performance of the tracks of the new LP is powerful and flawless; the set-list is wisely built to alternate indie synth-pop anthems you have to dance to and groovy-experimental parts where Glass Animals can fully dive into melodies and riffs. It is evident to everyone in the crowd that the stage is where these guys clearly belong and where their songs really take life and give out all their energy and power.
After a short break, anticipated by Youth and Pools, the band comes back for an encore where the singer Bayley takes the chance to go for a walk in the middle of the audience while performing Iko Iko, a catchy and quirky Dixie Cups cover to then re-join his bandmates on the stage and say goodbye to the notes of Pork Soda, concluding a top-level show.
As a piece of advice, if you have not yet, give a listen to Glass Animals’ new LP and, no matter what, if you have a chance, go see them live and you won’t be disappointed!
Roberto Medico