Trigger warning for: Bike accidents, suicide, drugs, potentially abusive relationships
In case you don't know, Glass Animals is a British indie band who has been making really dang good music since the early 2010s.
They started out with a jungle/nature vibe to their songs with the Leaflings and Glass Animals EPs, then released an entire album in 2014 called ZABA. The best way to describe this era is butter to the ears.
Then, we got How To Be A Human Being in 2016, which was butter to the imagination. Each of the eleven songs focused on one of the characters from the album cover. Great music, songwriting, nice sounds -- overall, a great album, even though I still believe ZABA tops it.
Finally, in 2020, we got Dreamland. This album was centered around the childhood and life of the band's lead singer, Dave Bayley, after his friend and the drummer of Glass Animals had a bike accident. Although Dreamland is slightly less liked by a lot of fans of the band because it threw them into the mainstream with the song ''Heatwaves'', I still think this is a solid record. I may have had to force myself to like some songs on here, but ''Space Ghost Coast To Coast'', ''It's All So Incredibly Loud'' and ''Waterfalls Coming Out Your Mouth'' are beautiful.
Anyways, we're now approaching a new album, released on the nineteenth of July called I Love You So ****ing Much. This one is going to have a massive space/science fiction vibe -- especially with the amount of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy references there were in the promotion --, and I'm all here for it. The first single, ''Creatures in Heaven'', which makes you feel like you're levitating. I wasn't the greatest fan after the initial excitement of ''OH MY GAWDDDD NEW GLASS ANIMALS SONG AHHHHHHH'' wore off, but I've come to appreciate it. It sounds (fittingly) heavenly.
Now, to the actual point, Glass Animals released another song -- ''A Tear In Space (Airlock)'' -- for their new album today [By the time you're seeing this, it's already the day after for me, but ignore that]! I saw a clip of the music video on the Discord stream thing yesterday, which Dave was on too. I was exhilarated and brought my phone to school today for the sole purpose of listening to the song on repeat during my lunch break, and I was not disappointed. To put it simply, it slaps in every way imaginable. Now, let me go on an overly detailed rave about ''A Tear In Space (Airlock)''. Please note that, in order to not absolutely slaughter my fingers by typing a crap ton, I will shorten the song title to ATIS. Thanks, and let's go!
Part One: The Music Video
As I've said in a mildly incoherent rant on the local Upvoting War, this music video reminds me of that for ''Agnes'' from How To Be A Human Being. Now, just for clarification purposes, ''Agnes'' is the last track from the aforementioned album and tells of the narrator's friend commiting suicide. As someone with a good friend who has struggles with their mental health, I relate to this song and it makes me cry a lot. It's a great finishing track that will stay in your mind for long after you listen to it. It's music video features Dave in a human centrifuge, singing along to the song. A human centrifuge, as the old description for the video explained, is exremely physically taxing and you can see that Dave is in pain while filming. As a sort of juxtapose to his suffering, we see a dummy -- it feels no pain, because it's just a dummy. This is supposed to contrast how Agnes, the depressed friend, feels in comparison to everyone around him. As I said, really danged good and I instantly get tears in my eyes whenever I hear the song kick in. This relates to the ATIS music video in two ways that I've found: One, pretty obviously -- the strong force pushing against Dave. In this case, it's strong wind from a sort of machine -- however, considering the science fiction vibe of the song, album and video, it's easy to think this is a really cool fantasy-type contraption. The second way is less prevalent, but there's a white flower in both videos. Coincidence? I think not.
Apart from the lengthy ''Agnes'' comparison, I've still got some things to say about the video. It's really sick. Like, black-white effect, Dave wearing a super cool outfit, and then the wind-blowing machine? It could very well end up falling flat on its face, but it didn't. It looks great -- not just because of the good performance and the fact that the song is awesome, but also because it's so well made. I loved the warping on Dave in a part of the song where it felt just right and the gritty look of everything. By the way, I checked online and the wind thingy is a wind tunnel!
Part Two: The Lyrics
This might get a wee bit longer than inteded, sorry. [Note from me, over two hours later: It did indeed overshoot my expectations by a few lines there. Whoopsie.]
First off, according to this Instagram post from Dave, this song was written with the intention of talking about how it feels to be pushed away by someone you love. Since that's pretty similar to my original thoughts while listening to this song, I'll be interpreting the lyrics in line with this. Please note that I interpreted this in a way using the word partner and relationship a lot, which makes it sound like a romantic thing, but I'm pretty sure this could be read in a platonic way just as easily.
Verse One:
Love, do you want love? Do you want lust?
Say you don't know
Maybe you just like the control, like it all cold
-Starting off strong here, the narrator is questioning what their lover wants. This connects nicely with the ''What do you think about when you think about love?'' question posed in ''Creatures in Heaven''. They're indicating that this partner is kind of abrasive with the second line, and that their relationship might not be the greatest with the third. They seem out-of-touch and cold.
But I like ya, like ya, like you're drugs
Sit in my blood, maybe too much, never enough
-Despite this icy bond between the two, the narrator still loves the other person -- to a degree where they're akin to drugs. This implies a sort of addictive behaviour with unpredictablitity or a need to be around them. The second line feels like a drug reference again, with the latter part of it showing how the narrator comes close to admitting his problems with a ''maybe'', but dismisses it right after.
I am your dog, I'm on your floor, all that you want
But I like ya, like ya, like you're drugs
-The first line can easily be interpreted as the narrator being very subservient to the partner. Dogs are commonly accociated with loyality, and the on the floor part is probably a reference of how they'll lie of the floor at your feet. ''All that you want'' is clear enough through that lense -- the narrator is extremely devout to this person, whereas they don't seem to have the same opinion, or at least the two aren't equals in the relationship.
Pre-Chorus One:
You get all worked up
Loving you, but it's not enough
-The first line, yet again, seems to hint at the state of the relationship. The second shows that even the narrator's strong dedication isn't getting to this person's heart.
Loving you from the airlock of
Your heart, from airlock one
-Taking the science fiction theme and running with it, an airlock is the very edge of a space ship -- the border between the vastness of space and the small man-made chunk of metal you rely on for safety. This could mean that the narrator isn't in the partner's heart, but just outside it.
Fear pulls you from my arms
It's a reckless abondon
-Stuff's getting interesting here. This indicates that the partner has a reason for their coldness, apart from not really liking the narrator back -- fear. The ''reckless abandon'' shows the narrator's feelings towards this -- not very enthusiastic, considering the strong word choice.
One look and it's all gone
All the air from the bottom of my lungs
-Not quite sure what this means, but I think the look might reference the feeling of pain the narrator would get when their partner looks at them in a way that's not appreciative -- if you like someone enough to consider them a drug, you'd clearly like them a lot, which makes one small negative comment from the person feel massive. In this context, the air is probably about the chest pain you get there. However, this could also be interpreted with the more literal airlock metaphor from before, with the air draining from the narrator's lungs as he's plunged into deep space, away from the heart of the person he loves.
Chorus:
Water, running down my face
Water, running different ways
Water, like a billion waves
Water, just a tear in space
-This might be indicating the narrator crying because of the unhappy love he's in. ''Down my face'' and ''tear in space'' make this most clear here, the latter of which supports the more literal metaphor of a space metaphor from before. Also, funny story to add here: Someone I know from school told me that the way Dave said ''water'' here sounded incredibly British and they're not too wrong. The enunciation is weird, but I love it.
Verse Two:
Ooh, too late, my love
You blew me into star dust
-Something may have happened to the narrator as a result of this unhappy relationship. With this, they also kind of recognise that this has been going on for too long.
Ooh, but I made it, just
Dangling like a thread from you
-I think this means that the relationship is still somehow together, but only barely. While the narrator used to be in the airlock, which was a sort of border/entry or exit point -- a doorway of sorts, if you will --, they're now only hanging on by a thread, which is even less close.
I climb into your walls
I'm where the spiders go
-Yeah, to be honest, I stopped entirely comprehending what on Earth Dave was trying to say a bit before here, but now I've pretty much grinded to a dead halt. Although this could mean something about secretely still being very close to this person and clinging onto them, I couldn't tell you anything else about this. It sounds sick as heck, though.
I'm here, but you aren't sure
What you are waiting for?
-This makes more sense to me again. The narrator is there for his partner, but they don't really know what to do with them. They have no idea what they're waiting for to change in this relationship.
Streach me like a leather rope
Make me invisible
-Feels like it falls under the ''all that you want'' category. Basically, I'll be with you, no matter what it takes because I love you so ****ing much, but you don't seem to feel the same way back.
Shape me into your form
What are you waiting for?
-Nice part here -- I think we might have the narrator wanting to be like the partner so they like them back. If they're in the same ''form'', they might have more in common and the narrator would be liked back, not half-rejected. The second line portrays a sense of urgency and confidence in the idea, whereas the other partner could be hesitant.
Pre-Chorus Two:
Hostage, so in love
It's an airless black-chasm
-This makes the circumstances of the relationship very questionable, but it could also mean that the narrator feels like he's captured by their love and tied down by it strongly, which would make sense with their strong devotion. Not sure what the second line is supposed to be about, but it's probably how the narrator feels -- no oxygen, no light, no anything.
You turn the airlock on
You turn the airlock on
-As we've previously established, the narrator is in the airlock. When it gets turned on, it means they get chucked out -- out of the heart of their lover. This means that they finally ended the relationship and the narrator is out there, in space.
Object disappearacne
It's a true phenomenon
-From what I've found through a quick search online, object disappearance seems to reference objects randomly vanished and showing up in unexpected places. No idea what Dave is trying to say here, except maybe that the partner forgot the narrator existed for a bit, showing how little they care.
Forget me and I'm gone
I'm slipping, no-no-no-no-no
-This supports what I just said -- the partner forgot about the narrator. This makes him slip out of the metaphorical airlock even further, completely ending the relationship. The partner has more or less moved on already, forgetting it ever happened, whereas the narrator is probably going to have to deal with this for a while.
Finally, Dave repeats the chorus one more time, ending this absolute banger of a song.
Part Three: The Sound
I'm really tired right now and I'm bad at writing stuff like this, but Dave's vocals are hauntingly beautiful and I love the space sounds. It sounds really epic and I can totally see myself walking down a hallways with this playing inmy head and feeling really cool. It's also giving some ''Space Ghost Coast To Coast'' vibes with the beats, which is nice. Generally, it seems like some of the really good Dreamland songs, but more interesting. I love the high notes in the intro, the drop before the chorus, how the chorus sounds like someone's repeatedly slapping something, Dave sounding like he's floating, how the entire song sounds like crystallised water... It's good, okay? I want to melt into those vroosh parts.
Conclusion: Good song; go listen! I need sleep and a break from vim. I really hope I didn't accidentally break any guidelines here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-LI98Q-rsg&pp=ygUPYSB0ZWFyIGluIHNwYWNl
Have a good one, yeah?
