How to Be a Human Being - glass Animals

By: Bobby Van Leer

Glass Animals’ latest album How to Be a Human Being explores millennial lifestyles through cheeky lyrics and catchy hooks. The album begins strongly with the standout track “Life Itself,” driven by rolling percussion and a great hook before the first verse. It explores the awkward elements of living at home with your parents in your late 20s and ignoring the fact that your life is in shambles. The lyrics are self-deprecating yet funny, “I can't get a job so I live with my mum I take her money but not quite enough I sit in the car and I listen to static. She said I look fat but I look fantastic.” 

 “Youth,” another standout, takes a much brighter look at growing up through the eyes of parents who just want their kids to be happy. It is a nostalgic piece that is by far the most uplifting song on the album, again leaning on catchy riffs and a driving percussion as the parents recant their past and live vicariously through their children. It is the most well developed song on the album and creates an interesting listening experience for the listener. However, following the next track, “Season 2, Episode 3,” How to Be a Human Being struggles to find consistent and polished sounds teetering on ridiculousness with interludes like “[Premade Sandwiches]” and “Take a Slice.”

 The album ends on a strong note however with “Agnes,” the only song with a name for a title despite each song representing characters depicted on the album cover. “Agnes” takes on the sad reality of having a friend succumb to drug abuse based on real events in Dave Bayley’s life, the front man of Glass Animals. The chorus is both beautiful and haunting as he recounts his struggles to understand how he lost his friend, “You’re gone but you’re on my mind, I’m lost but I don’t know why.” 

Overall, How to Be a Human Being reaches for the stars as it attempts to be a concept album. And while it may fall just short in regards to that attempt, they do succeed in creating undeniably catchy grooves with relatable and easy to understand lyrics that make seeing them in concert (as I did back in September) so great. Some of the better cuts like “Agnes” and “Youth” have strong emotional and lyrical value for the listener and show how much Glass Animals has grown since their debut album. However, going forward, we hope they can work on creating more consistent writing across an album instead of relying upon the hits to bring them success.