glass animals’ 'dreamland': a hazy trip through an inconsistent project
I had a hard time reviewing this new Glass Animals project. I listened to the band's third full length project the day after it was released in early August and stared at an empty document for the rest of the month. Despite my love for How To Be A Human Being, their creative sophomore album, I didn’t have high hopes going in. The singles released for this new project, Dreamland, were a mixed bag. On one hand there was the exciting and fun “Tokyo Drifting,” but on the other, there was the frustratingly grating “Your Love (Deja Vu).” The quality of the singles were not the only inconsistency — the sound of them was as well. Although the English band always split their attention between indie pop, rock, and electronic on past projects, the overall sound across an album’s tracks always felt consistent. However, this trend has not followed them into Dreamland. It’s an album with a choppy track-to-track flow and an inconsistent aesthetic, something upsetting to write about as a fan. I had a hard time putting my frustration into words for weeks, until now, because, although it possesses a fun track only here and there, Dreamland’s aesthetic fails to entertain for the majority of its runtime and lacks the cohesiveness that the group has proved they can achieve.
The title and intro track, “Dreamland,” acts as a lullaby. While touching on upcoming lyrical and musical themes, the hazy aesthetic and colorful synths pull listeners into a dreamstate. However, all the work to build immersion into this dream is foiled by two lousy lines: “Oh, it’s 2020, so it’s time to change that / So you go make an album and call it Dreamland.” Why, after immersing the listener into this dreamstate, would you choose to break the musical 4th wall in the last two lines? Why return the listener back to reality? That lyrical turn from the fanatical to reality is jarring. It leaves the listener wide awake, completely un-immersed for the following tracks.
“Tangerine” is the first song to take place in this dreamstate. But it’s oddly… funny. Seriously, with an instrumental that feels like it was stolen right from a Nintendo Wii and lyrics that refer to a romantic interest as a fruit, it’s fair to call “Tangerine” a little laughable. It’s well worth a listen though, with its light-hearted introduction to this land of dreams and equally light-hearted lyrics: “But I love it when the light sits on you just right / Tiny tangerine speckles painted in your eyes”.
The tracks “Hot Sugar” and “Space Ghost Coast To Coast” follow. They’re fairly uninteresting additions to the tracklist. Both feel hollow, lacking the full atmosphere of past Glass Animals songs. Take what you like from these two, but there’s not much there in terms of lyrical depth or entertaining instrumentals. When “Space Ghost Coast To Coast,” a wild story about lead singer Dave Bayley’s childhood friend planning a school shooting, puts me to sleep… something is wrong.
I forget about the failures of past tracks when I hear the intro to “Tokyo Drifting.” The Denzel Curry feature on this track was the collaboration we never knew we needed. The buildup of tension from Bayley’s relaxed refrain during the first minute or so to the first chorus and its catchy tune is praise-worthy enough on its own. Just when you think the fun of the electronic melody is over, Curry comes in with a show-stopping verse. His gutsy delivery and wild ad-libs are pure gold. The only complaint is that this standout single feels remarkably out of place in between some lack-luster tracks. The subsequent “Melon and the Coconut” and “Your Love (Deja Vu)” either lack much of mention or just come off as slightly annoying. “Your Love (Deja Vu)” grates the listener with an especially frustrating melody that sounds like it doesn’t make musical sense (I’d like to talk to whoever cleared that chord progression). Not even the admittedly catchy instrumental can save this track.
The subsequent “Waterfalls Coming Out Of Your Mouth” has a fun instrumental and is far more entertaining than some of the previous tracks, ironic as it is followed by the two most boring: “It’s All So Incredibly Loud” and “Domestic Bliss.” “Heat Waves” is next and is definitely one of the better tracks, released as a single with the immensely exciting “Tokyo Drifting” and immensely annoying “Your Love (Deja Vu),” lying somewhere in between the two. The melody comes off a bit choppy, but overall, it's a good enough tune. “Helium” closes out the project and acts as a satisfying outro given the themes of the album. The track acts almost like an alarm ‘waking you up’ from Dreamland and even touches on the musical themes of the intro track, something pleasing to the ear after this confusing tracklist.
Dreamland has a creative premise and a talented group behind it, but sadly didn’t live up to its potential. Though it has some tracks worth replaying, the album feels remarkably inconsistent as a whole, which is disappointing looking back on previous projects. I recognize it's unfair to constantly compare new to old, but Glass Animals has proven that they can create entertaining and holistic albums in the past. I just can’t help but ask, what made this one so different?