The Daily Spin, November 6
Glass Animals | ZABA
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite songs from each album right here.
Album: ZABA (2014)
Artist: Glass Animals
Link:
Rarely does it feel apt to use weather to describe a work a music, but I think the best word for Glass Animals’ debut full-length ZABA is humid.
It’s an utterly mystifying record, sleek and sexy while simultaneously maintaining a strong sense of oddity about it, weird and unusual to the point that it’s a little haunting and uneasy. There’s something thrilling about listening to ZABA, because around each corner, it feels like there’s something lingering, hidden in the shadows, ready to pounce - like something under that low bass and those jungled drums is laying in wait, and you better be on your toes.
This sense of danger propels much of the album into new heights for me - it’s enjoyable music as is, with Dave Bayley’s near-falsetto vocals a strong foil to the addictively alluring guitar and drum beats that envelop you, a soft hug that will lull you into security on the forest floor with naught but a dream in your head.
This is their first work, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s their finest - there’s something raw and undeniable about this record, a sort of gravity that feels inescapable. You’re drawn in, prey lured to the flytrap, until suddenly it’s too late. Perfection.
Rating: 9.4/10
Best Tracks: Hazey; Cocoa Hooves; Pools
Worst Tracks: Flip