Live Review

Glass Animals, Brixton Academy, London

16th March 2017

The confidence they exude makes it clear that tonight’s simply a step on the way to complete domination.

Words: Will Richards
Photos: Caroline Quinn
17th March 2017

Rarely has Brixton Academy seen a week as revelationary as this one. While the escalators of Brixton tube station are still emblazoned with reminders of The xx’s seven night stint at the venue, which finished last night, it’s the trail of spray painted pineapples, stretching all the way down to the Academy, that point the way forward.

Last in London at the Roundhouse towards the end of last year, Glass Animals looked to be finally hitting their stride. Tonight, they’re sprinting towards even bigger things without even pausing for thought.

From the second frontman Dave Bayley bounds on stage with limitless energy, Brixton Academy is theirs, and the Oxford quartet proceed to give it one hell of a party. From bombastic opener ‘Life Itself’ through slinkier cuts from debut album ‘Zaba’, every lyric, riff or hip-shake is greeted with stadium-fit yelps from the front rows, and Bayley is fast becoming a frontman worthy of such hysteria. He’s an untameable livewire tonight, and one that’s quickly pushing Glass Animals to being one of the best live bands in the country.

Their earworm of a new single 'Pork Soda' closes proceedings, met with a sea of flailing arms and tropical fruit, and while the celebratory mood in the crowd is largely mirrored on stage, the confidence the band exude makes it clear that tonight's simply a step on the way to complete domination.

There's pineapples and cacti everywhere - as many in the crowd as onstage - and it's a carnival atmosphere that the four-piece create, one that's impossible to not get whipped up in. The cult around Glass Animals is growing, and doesn't look to be slowing down any time soon.